As You Wish
by YarningChick
Summary: It was all he ever said to her.
1. The Ward

All right; everyone loves The Princess Bride, right? Well, so do I, but as much as I love the movie, there were just a few things that happened in it that I didn't care for, so this story is going to go off-target again, but it's a lot closer to the tale than my last attempt of it was. I hope everyone will love it anyway.

P.S. It's another attempt at comedy, feel free to tell me if I've hit the mark yet.

**Chapter One: The Ward**

Hasho Yoshioka looked over his shoulder nervously, to the young boy sitting behind him on the horse. The golden –haired lad hadn't spoken a word, since Hasho took him away from his boarding school, but then, the tall dark man couldn't blame his new ward.

He sighed with apprehension, looking at the overhanging branches shading the path to his home. "I'm certain that you'll be content here," he told the boy softly. "There's plenty of room for you to run and play in, but I'm afraid that I and my wife will need your help with the chores. Nothing too strenuous, but enough to earn your keep. I promise I'm no slave-driver."

The blonde boy nodded numbly, still lost in a world of his own.

Hasho sighed, wishing that the boy would talk to him. It was hard enough, trying to talk to a boy that has been so recently orphaned and then taken to a completely different country to live with a man he had never seen before, but it was so much harder when the boy just refused to say anything.

"I had a lot of respect for your father," Hasho continued as he eased his tired grey mount up the mountain slope. "He was a good man, and an excellent soldier. I always considered it an honor to fight at his side."

Suddenly, recognizing a familiar landmark, he pulled in his horse, and turned around to look the boy straight in the eye.

"Try not to panic, but it's somewhat of a tradition for a certain member of my family to attack me while in this area when I return home. Just try not to panic, Humbert, and keep the horse from running off, all right?"

The green-eyed boy nodded with a slight hint of interest, and relaxed his hold on the man's chest considerably.

Hasho nodded in satisfaction, and urged his mount back to a trot. His senses were on hyper-alert, watching, waiting for the inevitable to strike.

There! A shadow in the trees. Hasho grinned, and tried to look as casual as possible. _'Three, two, one-'_

The shadow burst from concealment, grabbing him by his waist and knocking him completely off of his horse with a happy squeal.

"PAPA!" the attacker cried out happily while rolling back on her feet, making Humbert's mouth drop open in surprise as the man also rolled to his feet and began sparring with his tiny assailant.

It was a little girl, perhaps one or two years younger than himself, wearing a plain peasant brown dress and no shoes as she dodged her father's fists with ease, and hopped onto his back like a squirrel to begin a tickle attack, one that her father was not able to ignore.

"Ha-Haru!" Hasho cried out between his bursts of mirth. "Enough! I surrender!" he protested as he was driven to the ground.

The small brunette crowed with delight, and threw her arms around his neck to hug him happily. "I've missed you, Papa! And so has Mama!"

"Have you been good?" he asked sternly, sitting up so that he could hug his little girl, who flinched slightly.

"Well… I try," she said with a nervous giggle, making her father laugh and mess her hair with one hand.

"I guess I can't ask for more than that. Haru, I'd like you to meet a new friend of mine. Humbert," he called to the boy still sitting on the horse, his mouth agape.

"I'd like you to meet my daughter, Haru. Honey, this is Humbert Gikkingen, the son of a friend of mine that died recently, so he's going to live with us for a while," he said softly, withdrawing his arms so that Haru could work her usual magic on the distraught lad.

"Oh," was all his daughter offered to say before crawling off of her father, and bowing politely to the golden-haired boy. "I'm sorry to hear that, Humbert. That your father died, I mean," she added hastily with a nervous smile. "But life here isn't too bad. Home's just up this road, if you want to walk the rest of the way."

The green-eyed boy nodded wordlessly, and slid off of the completely calm horse to adjust his shoulder bag slightly, and urge the relieved mount forward with one gentle hand as Haru and Hasho walked beside him. But his amazed eyes were still on the slim brunette beside him.

"How old are you, Humbert?" Haru asked politely, looking back at him, but he didn't answer, although she could see him biting his lip nervously.

"He's ten, Honey. Only a year older than you," Hasho told her, squeezing one of her shoulders gently as he thought about what his wife would say, when she found out he had taken in an orphan without consulting her first.

"Can't you talk?" Haru asked sadly, making the boy jerk a little, and nod slowly, still looking at her.

"He doesn't do it very often, Sweetie. Just be gentle with him, all right?" her father asked her, making the girl nod solemnly.

"Okay. Come on, Humbert! There's a lot to show you!" Without warning, she grabbed the slightly older boy's hand and started running up the trail. The blonde lad gave only a startled gasp as he was dragged up the mountain path, making the older man shake his head as he took his horse's reins, and started jogging.

"Did she misunderstand what I meant by 'gentle'?" he asked himself, although he was secretly glad that his daughter was taking to the newcomer so well. Poor Humbert more than likely needed a friend right now.

His wife was standing in the doorway of the modest cottage he had built, her face grave as she listened to her daughter proudly introduce Humbert. She gave her husband a very stern look as he approached, but pushed the children inside her home. "Give Humbert a little bread and milk, Haru. He's likely very hungry."

"Yes, Mama!" the small brunette chirruped as she dragged her new companion into the house.

The redhead slowly turned, and marched purposefully to her husband as he led his mount to the stable. "Hasho, what were you thinking, bringing home another mouth to feed?" she asked sternly.

"I swore to Harold just before he died that I would look after his son," the tall dark man explained, gently taking the saddle off of the horse as it fed hungrily on hay. "I'm sorry that I couldn't tell you earlier, dear, but this is something I _had _to do. His majesty was going to just drop him off in a distant orphanage. Besides, his majesty's giving us a modest yearly consolation for raising him."

She sighed tiredly, and took the large brush to the horse's body. "Darling, your heart is too big."

"Maybe so, but at least Humbert won't be alone if he stays with us. If anyone can help him through his father's death, it's our daughter. Also, weren't you saying something before I left about wishing that Haru could have someone to play with, more often than just the monthly trips into town?"

"I was hoping for another child of our own," Naoko admitted as she kept brushing the horse down. "After all, what are we going to do with Humbert after he reaches… you know, _that _age? It wouldn't be proper to have both him and our daughter in the same house in perhaps five years. People will talk."

"Let's not borrow trouble, love. We'll worry about that when it happens. But for now, let's just make him feel at home. He needs one right now," Hasho said softly, wrapping his wife into a tender embrace.

A sudden crash came from the house, making the couple look at each other worriedly, and make a mad dash back to the cottage.

As they stepped into the cottage, they found their daughter lying on the floor crying with the shattered remains of a clay pitcher and an overturned chair next to the shelf where most of the kitchen utensils were kept. Humbert was kneeling at her side, holding an arm that she had accidentally cut with one or more shards. He looked up sharply as the parents came in, and turned bright red with embarrassment. His mouth opened and closed as he waved one hand frantically, using the other one to help Haru into a sitting position.

"What happened?!" Naoko asked in alarm.

The small brunette wiped the tears from her eyes, and sniffed noisily. "I just wanted to get the pitcher for Humbert. He tried to stop me, but I wouldn't listen, Mama, Papa. I'm the only one that should get punished for breaking it."

The mother flew to her daughter's side, and wrapped both children into a warm embrace. "Just clean up this mess, and I'll call it even. But if Humbert tries to tell you not to do something, try to actually do as he says in the future, all right?"

"Okay," Haru sniffed, rising to her feet as Humbert silently pulled a handkerchief from his pocket, and tied it firmly around her arm to stop the bleeding.

The small girl looked up at the boy with her large brown eyes, and smiled through her remaining tears. "Thank you, Humbert."

He nodded softly, and smiled back at her before looking around the main room, searching for something. After making sure that the small brunette was back on her feet, he nearly ran for the broom and dustpan lying in a corner of the room, and brought them back to where the shattered pitcher was.

But instead of handing them to the girl when she held her hands out for them, he kneeled on the ground, and began sweeping the shards into a neat pile.

"Humbert," Haru protested, pulling on one of his homespun sleeves. "_I'm _the one that made the mess! Please, you don't need to clean my mess."

He looked at her with obvious surprise.

"Don't look at me in that tone," she said defensively, holding her hands out for the broom and dustpan. "I don't mind that you're willing to clean my mess, but I should do it. Please?"

The blonde boy blinked once, smiled, and handed over the cleaning utensils without a fight. "As you wish."

"So you _do _talk," Haru squealed with delight as she finished the cleaning job he had started, completely missing the soft gasp that her father uttered.

Humbert nodded, his soft green eyes looking at her warmly as he smiled at her again and stood up.

'_That's the first time I've heard him talk since I had to tell him he was orphaned,' _Hasho thought numbly, watching his daughter smile back and sweep up the rest of her mess. _'And I've never seen him smile like that. I guess bringing him home to meet my little Haru was an even better idea than I thought.'_

ooOoo

"But Papa!" Haru protested as her devoted father tucked her into bed, a few days after he had returned home with the mostly silent ward. "It's the only thing he'll say to me!"

Hasho sighed as he leaned over and kissed his daughter's face tenderly. "Just give Humbert time, sweetheart. He _did _lose his father recently, so he won't feel like saying much for a while."

"But couldn't he say something besides 'as you wish'?" she begged him, holding onto his hand. "It's driving me crazy!"

"But at least he says _something _to you," he reminded her, brushing her soft brown hair away from her face. "He hasn't said anything at all to me or your mother. He likes you, sweetie, and he really needs a friend right now. Just be patient, and he'll eventually start saying other things."

"I hope so," she muttered as he picked up the candle so that he could walk out of her little room. "It'll be boring, trying to talk to him if he doesn't have opinions of his own."


	2. The Simple Life

**Chapter Two: The Simple Life**

Haru grabbed a big basket full of clothes, and carefully dragged it out of her parent's room. She made a pit stop at her own room to grab her two other dresses to also put into the basket. Biting her lip, she walked down to the end of the hallway, and climbed up the ladder to pound politely on the trap door leading to the attic, where her new friend slept.

The attic wasn't as bad as it could have been, especially after her father repaired the roof extensively and gave the blonde boy many blankets to keep him warm during the long mountain nights. And Haru was certain that if he had anything to complain about of his new accommodations, he would let her know.

"Humbert?" she called through the slightly thick wood. "Mama's asked me to collect all the laundry, so it can be washed."

The trap door opened, making a few pieces of hay fall into her hair as the blonde boy grinned down at her, motioning with one hand for her to step off of the ladder.

He still didn't say much, Haru concluded as she quickly hopped down, and waited for him to descend with a bundle of clothing tucked under one arm. But every word he _did _speak, he apparently saved for her alone.

He stepped off of the ladder with a soft step, and smiled warmly at her as he neatly set his clothes into the basket before trying to lift it by himself. But it was slightly too heavy for him.

Haru giggled happily, since he usually tried to take over her chores. "Maybe if we both grip a side of it, we'll be able to take it down the stairs."

He looked up at her, and smiled sheepishly. "As you wish." He moved to one side, and gripped it firmly as his small companion grabbed the other end with a slightly irritated sigh.

"I wish you'd say something besides that to me," she told him sulkily as they lifted the basket as one, and carried it back down the modest hall and down the stairs to the main room where her mother was pounding dough for bread.

The redheaded woman looked over her shoulder, and smiled warmly at the children as she continued to pound the dough in her hands. "Thank you, Haru, Humbert. Would you mind washing them in the stream for me? I must finish this bread if we want to have it done in time for lunch."

Haru locked eyes with her friend for a second, silently asking for his opinion. He grinned and nodded at her, making her look at her mother again. "We'll do it, Mama. It shouldn't take all that long with two of us."

In unison, the two children bowed to the woman before carefully walking to the front door.

"I'll have some clotheslines ready for you two when you get back," Naoko called to them before returning to her task, smiling in contentment.

ooOoo

"This way, Humbert," Haru encouraged her friend, carefully stepping around the rocks lining the sides of the riverbank.

After seeing her blonde companion stumble a little longer, the small brunette took pity on him, and set the basket on the ground, overturning it so that all the clothes would fall out. "Have you ever washed clothes before?"

Humbert shook his head casually, having been practically raised inside the boarding school his father had been forced to leave him in.

"Well, it's not all that hard to learn," she told him, grabbing one of her father's shirts from the pile of clothes and moving to the fast water's edge, kneeling on the river pebbles as she dipped the shirt into the ice-cold water. "All you really have to worry about is keeping a good grip on the clothes so that the water doesn't carry it away, and making sure that you scrub the dirt and smell out like this." She began fiercely rubbing and dipping the article of clothing into the water as Humbert mutely joined her side, a pair of her father's pants in his hands.

With his green eyes flickering often to her, he imitated her movements until they seemed to move as one, tossing the wet but clean clothes into the basket before retrieving some more clothes to wash.

It was strenuous work, but the cool water kept their task from becoming unbearable in the summer sun.

Haru looked at her friend mischievously when they were just finishing, and slapped the dress in her hands into the water sharply enough to send cold water down his face and front.

Humbert gasped in shock and from the cold, but then looked at her with a wicked smile. He sharply turned to toss his shirt into the nearly overflowing basket, sending a wave of water over the front of the dress she was wearing.

Laughing in delight, the little brunette splashed water at him while tossing the last of the laundry to the basket so that she and her green-eyed friend could engage in an enthusiastic water fight.

After a while, she was even able to coax a few laughs out of Humbert, making the day a success in her eyes.

To be honest, she was just happy to hear him make a sound other than, 'as you wish'.

ooOoo

Humbert looked over his keeper's shoulder as Hasho carefully led old Moriko, now hitched to the family wagon filled with surplus maple sugar and warm knitted pieces of clothing that Haru and Naoko had been laboring over for the past few months, to sell or trade as needed in town.

"Now sweetheart," the tall redheaded woman said sternly as she looked at her daughter. "Your father and I are going to be busy for a few hours, but try not to get into another fight with Machida."

"I can't help it if he's a jerk," Haru muttered under her breath, making her slightly taller friend look at her with surprise.

"Try to ignore him then. You'll keep her in line, won't you, Humbert?" Naoko asked him worriedly, making the blonde boy nod, although a little dubiously.

They reached the general merchandise store, making Haru hop off of the back of the wagon and beam up at her friend. "Come on, Humbert! I'll introduce you to my other friends."

"As you wish," he said politely as he slid from his seat, bowed to the parents, and allowed Haru to grab his hand again as she guided him through the modest fishing village at the base of the mountain they lived in.

"Not much happens around here," Haru said, wrinkling her nose from the constant fish smell that hung in the air like a pestilence. "Except at night, or so Hiromi says. That's when the sailors go to the tavern her family owns so they can drink beer and get into fights. But I wouldn't know; Mama and Papa never spend the night down here because they don't like the smell or the rowdy sailors."

"Haru!" a lighter brunette girl called from an alley before running up to hug the darker brunette happily. "When did you get into town?"

"Just now. Hiromi, this Humbert, a new friend of mine that's living with my family. Humbert, this is the friend I was just telling you about."

The hazel-eyed girl looked up at the blonde boy, who bowed respectfully. "Why are you living with Haru? Where are your parents? Aren't you scared of living on the mountain? How come you haven't said hi yet-"

"Humbert doesn't talk much," Haru cut in smoothly before the girl could ask more questions, gripping her perplexed companion's hand comfortingly. "He's an orphan Papa volunteered to raise, and he isn't afraid of very many things. Is anything interesting going on?"

"Granny was about to tell us a story," Hiromi reported with a grin, bowing to her and Humbert. "Want to join us?"

Haru nodded happily before turning to her slightly taller friend. "Her granny tells the best stories!"

Humbert looked interested, so they followed the chattering brunette back to the alley, where an elderly woman was sitting back on a comfortable chair, a bit of knitting between her hands as she patiently waited for the children to come join the three children already gathered around her feet.

"Hello, dears," she greeted them in her soft raspy voice. "And who is this handsome young man?"

"This is Humbert, a new friend of mine," Haru said proudly, completely missing the violent blush that crossed the blonde boy's face.

"Always a pleasure, my dear," she cooed softly at him, clicking her knitting needles as the three children sat at her feet with the others. "Now, what story would you like to hear, Humbert?"

He flushed a little, and sent a frantic look at Haru.

She nodded, understanding that he wasn't ready to start talking to anyone besides her yet. "How about the sky pirates, Nana? He probably hasn't heard that one."

The confused look on the blonde boy's face was all the encouragement that the old woman needed, as well as the squeals of delight from the other children.

"Yeah, do that one, Granny!" Hiromi cheered.

"All right, my dears," the white-haired crone laughed, turning the scarf in her hands over so that she could start knitting again. "Let's see… this was a very long time ago, when my grandmother was a little girl. Our poor country was constantly under attack by a strange race of pirates that sailed the sky instead of the sea. Hardly a day went by without a village raid or an attack on a ship at sea."

Humbert's dignified green eyes went wide, and he unconsciously leaned closer to the old woman.

"Now, these pirates were not only exceptional magicians, but they were also shape-shifters. That means that when one of their number reached a certain age, he or she could gain the power to turn into their spirit animal, either fully or halfway. One time, my grandmother was almost carried off by one who was part snake, and even to the day she died, she still had nightmares about the terrible pirate. You can imagine how terrified the king at the time was, since walls were no good against those to sailed over them, and they could raid over land just as easily as the sea. Eventually, the king of the sky pirates made an offer to our king.

"If he gave the Sky King his daughter's hand in marriage, then he would pull back his people, and never touch his lands again. Of course, the king had no choice but to deliver his poor daughter to the Sky King after a few choice raids on the capital. After that, the sky pirates all but vanished from the face of our fair kingdom. The government and many of the people dedicated the following decades, even unto this day, to forget that the sky pirates have ever existed. But…" the woman continued with a sad wink.

"Although the Sky King never broke his vow to leave our king's lands alone, more than one vessel has vanished without a trace over the past two centuries, far out into the open water. So beware of the sea, dear children, and never go out of sight of land when you must sail the salty ocean. For if you ever lose sight of your homeland… you may _never_ see it again."


	3. The Sweethearts

**Chapter Three: The Sweethearts**

"Do you understand now, Humbert?" Hasho asked softly, making his blonde student nod solemnly as he arched his back and stretched silently before accepting a wooden practice sword from the tall dark man.

"Good," the samurai approved, suddenly taking the boy by his shoulders, and turning him to face the tiny brunette, doing stretching exercises of her own with an identical wooden sword in one hand.

Hasho grinned warmly at his daughter, keeping the tender smile on his face as he looked at his young ward. "Now remember, this is only for practice, so don't take it personally if you lose the first few times. Unless that boarding school gave you fighting experience, which I doubt-"

Humbert shook his head, the smile on his face making it clear that he was close to laughing at the idea.

"-then you have less training than Haru. Go easy on him, sweetie," he gently admonished his daughter, who bowed prettily.

"Yes, Papa," the girl chirruped before turning her eyes to her opponent, and relaxed her body into a standard fighting stance, holding the practice sword's tip towards the ground.

The blonde boy echoed her stance, his calm green eyes on his skinny friend as he shifted his own practice sword between his hands slowly in preparation to strike.

The first stroke was given by the little brunette, a little slow as she tested his strength carefully as he blocked her, and made a strike of his own.

Haru narrowed her eyes in concentration as she continually tested him for weaknesses, choosing to end the match after five minutes of dodging his somewhat clumsy blows. She wheeled around his wooden blade with ease, and rapped his wrist with her hilt just enough to force him to drop the sword as she simultaneously hooked her foot around his ankle to trip him.

Humbert was lying on the ground before he understood what was going on, and Haru was sitting on his stomach so that he wouldn't be able to get up again.

"You've got good instincts, Humbert," she told him with a giggle. "I bet if you practice hard, you'll be able to really challenge me by this time next year."

His soft green eyes were still dazed, but he was still looking at her warmly. "As you wish."

"But do _you _wish it?" Haru asked him, leaning deeply into his chest, almost like she could force different words out of him for once since the three months he had arrived with her father.

Humbert winced slightly, but then he grinned even wider at her. "Yes. I do."

"Ah ha!" Haru crowed happily, rolling off his stomach so that she could hug him around the shoulders. "You finally said something different!"

The blonde boy smiled sheepishly as he hesitantly wrapped his arms around her, one nervous eye on her father in case he objected. "You just act so funny every time I say 'as you wish', I can't help myself."

"She does, doesn't she?" Hasho laughed, relieved that his ward was finally talking for real. _'Of course, I knew she'd break his shell before six months.'_

ooOoo

Haru stopped picking wild berries long enough to sit by the cool stream, and dip her feet into the sparkling water. "How many berries do you think we've gathered, Humbert?" she asked as her twelve-year-old companion joined her, setting his own basket aside.

"I'd say around three hundred and fifty," he said while casually, leaning more into the water to grab one of the reeds that grew in it, pulling it up by the roots. "Which means about ten jars' worth of jam. Eight, if we can persuade your mother to make one or two pies."

Haru shook her head in amazement as she watched him take out the knife her father had given him, so that he could start cutting off the roots and extra leaves. "I just don't understand how you can come up with those numbers so quickly."

"I didn't exactly waste all those hours I spent in that boarding school," he reminded her as he finished carving the reed into a single straight piece, and then started carefully drilling holes. "Some of the other boys played all the time and neglected their studies, but I wanted to please Father so, that I forgot to play at all."

"But weren't you bored, with only books for company?" the slim brunette asked him, watching him play with his knife and the reed.

"No, never bored," he said carefully, looking at her from the corner of his eye. "A little lonely sometimes, but never bored. If not for you, I would probably have always been content with only books for company."

"I was lonely, before Papa brought you here," she confided softly. "Mama was always busy, and you know how much Hiromi loves talk more than play."

"Oh yes," he agreed fervently, tying the knife back to his side before holding the altered reed up to one eye so that he could look down the hollow space of it. "I sometimes wonder if she can talk for a solid week without needing to take a breath. That girl could outtalk a politician."

"I wouldn't go _that _far," Haru giggled as he inspected his creation. "Why were you messing with that reed?"

Humbert grinned at her mysteriously, and lifted one end of the reed to his mouth, and placed his fingers over the holes he had just drilled. He took a deep breath, and let it out through the reed, moving his fingers off and on the holes to make different notes that flowed into each other almost magically.

Haru stared at her best friend in amazement as he serenaded her, his warm eyes locked on her as his fingers kept dancing over the makeshift flute. The song was almost like that of a bird's, but not quite.

The brunette closed her large eyes in contentment, and leaned over just enough to rest her head on the blonde's shoulder. "Every time I think I know everything about you, you go and prove me wrong. Promise you'll never leave, Humbert?"

His hands twitched slightly as he played wordlessly, and he glanced down at the half-grown girl nearly cuddling at his side.

His green eyes sparked with many emotions, as he looked at the girl that unknowingly held his heart. Worry, fear, a helpless devotion… but a fiery determination of something he didn't dare to tell her.

Not yet, at least. He just knew she wouldn't be happy with what he was planning to do in another year, and he didn't want to fight with her any more than he had to. She could _still _whip him in a fight any time she felt like it, and he had never been one to go looking for trouble.

ooOoo

Humbert took a deep breath as he ran one hand through his thick gold hair nervously one morning, after he had turned fourteen. He wasn't really looking forward to what he was about to do, but time was of the essence.

He took another deep breath, and slipped down the stairs a good fifteen minutes before Haru usually woke up.

Hasho and Naoko were already up, sitting at the modest table in deep conversation. They looked up as their blonde ward made his way closer to them, his heart pounding loudly in his chest.

"Good morning sir, ma'am," he said respectfully, his green eyes glowing with respect. "Can I borrow a moment of your time?"

"Of course, Humbert," the tall samurai said with a light chuckle, pulling one of the other chairs loose from the table so that the young man could take a seat. "What's on your mind?"

The blonde boy took another deep breath for courage. "I… first of all, I wanted to say how grateful I am, that you have taken me into your home, and made me feel like part of your family. My years here have been quite possibly the happiest of my life, but…" he trailed off, wondering how to present his request.

"But," Naoko prodded him, making the boy sigh.

"I know you've been worrying lately, about… having me in the same house as Haru. It was fine when we were children, but we're not children anymore. The people down in the village mean well, but… people are starting to talk."

"Go on," Hasho urged him, his dark eyes unsurprised.

Humbert took another deep breath. "I think it's time I left to seek my fortune. We all know that I'd sooner die than do anything improper with Haru, but I don't want the family's reputation to suffer for my sake. And…" How was he going to put this in a way that they wouldn't want to kill him?

"You would like to earn a place in the world by your own hard work?" Hasho asked gently, his dark eyes becoming intent.

Humbert nodded gratefully, and then lost his cool demeanor without warning. "I love your daughter!" he suddenly cried out, getting out of his seat so that he could kneel respectfully at the man's feet, his forehead touching the cool wooden floor in absolute submission to the man's will. "And I want to prove myself worthy of her. She deserves better than what I can give her right now, but if the two of you and she can see fit to give me maybe five years to prove that I can give her what she deserves, will you allow me to court her? I've loved her for years, and I swear that I'll be good to her if she accepts me."

Drat it, why did he have to lose his self-control at such a critical moment?!

Hasho chuckled a little, and slid out of his chair to pull the boy to his feet enough to lock eyes with him. "I already knew that you loved Haru, Humbert. That wasn't news to me." He slapped one of the blonde lad's shoulders in a congratulatory manner. "But wanting to prove yourself for her? I'm proud of you, my boy. You're the son I've never had, and I would be thrilled if you married my daughter one day."

"Really?!" the green-eyed youth said happily, making the mother giggle into one hand.

"I guess all that really leaves is the question of where you'll go," Naoko said around her laughter. "I'm afraid that we can't spare old Moriko, which means that you would have to walk to wherever you were planning to go."

"I was thinking about walking to the village and hiring myself out as a cabin boy to a sea captain. The fact that I can read should help in my favor."

"It helps tremendously," Hasho assured him, scratching his chin thoughtfully. "A couple of the captains that sell fish to the village know and respect me, Humbert. Would you like a letter of recommendation to help you land a position?"

"I would appreciate that, sir," the young man said while bowing gratefully. "I'll go down today, and see who's anchored in the harbor."

"The harbor?" Haru suddenly asked as she descended the stairs, tying a wide piece of cloth into her hair for a ponytail. "Why do you want to go to the harbor, Humbert?"

The blonde boy froze, and then slowly turned to the love of his life, a nervous smile on his face. "Good morning, Haru. How did you sleep?"

"Just fine, but why were you talking about the harbor?" she asked him persistently, walking up to him until he could see his reflection in her beautiful brown eyes.

"Um…" Humbert hesitated as he watched her parents quickly but quietly withdraw from the room, wearing matching smirks on their faces.

The light in Haru's eyes faded slightly as she studied his nervous face. "Are you leaving?" she asked sadly, although deep down, she already knew the answer.

"Just for a few years," he consoled her, wrapping the girl up into a warm embrace. "The villagers are starting to talk about our slightly scandalous arrangement, now that we've grown some."

"Let them talk!" the slim brunette replied hotly, clinging to him like a lifeline. "_We_ know the truth, so why do their opinions matter?! Please, Humbert. Don't go," she sobbed into his shoulder as he rubbed her back soothingly and rocked her gently in his now muscular arms.

"But I _need _to go, Haru," he whispered, steeling his resolve so that he wouldn't be able to back down again. "Unless I get a real job, I won't be able to afford to marry you."

She looked up at him sharply, her mouth slightly agape. "_Marry_?" she whispered softly.

He nodded, and kissed her cheek respectfully. "I've loved you since the moment I saw you, Haru. Where else am I going to find a girl that randomly gets into physical fights with her father, and win occasionally?"

"Probably nowhere," she said numbly, looking up into his beautiful green eyes. "But you really want to marry me?" she asked excitedly.

"No one, but _you_, Haru," he said fervently, holding her closer than ever. "Will you wait for me, until I can give you what you deserve?"

"I don't need much, you know that," she whispered, rubbing her cheek against his shoulder lovingly. "Promise to come back as soon as you can, Humbert. I love you, and I won't marry anybody but you. I love you too."

"I promise," he whispered just before stealing a chaste kiss from her. "I'll come back for you as soon as I can."

ooOoo

As it so happened, a ship was ready to set sail the very next day, and not only was the captain was an old friend of Hasho's, but he also had need of a cabin boy.

Humbert stood at the end of the wharf, his familiar bag slung over one shoulder as he locked eyes with his sad fiancée. He tried several times to say goodbye, but the words stuck painfully in his throat, painfully aware of her parents standing a good distance away, having already said their own goodbyes.

Without warning, Haru threw her arms around his neck, and clung to him before planting a kiss of her own on his surprised lips. "Watch out for those sky pirates," she said with a sarcastic smile.

He squeezed her lovingly, and whispered into her ear just before pushing her away painfully and walking up the plank to the waiting ship.

"As you wish."

Haru came to a startling revelation, as she watched the ship slowly disappear into the distance, one that made her cry anew and run for her parents.

Every time Humbert had ever said 'as you wish' to her, what he was really saying was 'I love you'.


	4. The Proclamation

**Chapter Four: The Proclamation**

The common people were gathered in front of the castle, awaiting the wonderful news that their prince had so longed to give them for years. After a few minutes of waiting, the trumpeters blew a golden fanfare, cueing the entrance of the king and the crown prince.

The younger royal locked mismatched eyes with his father, who nodded. The prince smiled, and turned to the large crowd below. "My people," he proclaimed in a loud voice. "As many of you know, the eight-hundredth anniversary of the founding of our country is in half a year's time. On the sundown of that anniversary, I will marry a lady who was once counted among you. Although that will no longer be true, I hope you will love her as much as I do. Would you like to meet her?"

His loyal subjects roared their approval heartily, since the prince had waited perhaps a little too long in choosing a bride.

"My people," the dark-haired prince said proudly, extending his hand lovingly to an opening that had a red carpet rolled out of it. "The princess… Yuki!"

A somewhat gentler fanfare directed the crowd's attention to the opening, where a figure had appeared.

With dignity, a lovely young woman with white-blonde hair appeared, clothed in a regal periwinkle dress that matched her eyes perfectly, and a modest headdress set with sapphires. The potential princess blushed charmingly as all eyes fell on her, although she was clearly unnerved by how everyone bowed silently in tribute to her.

To distract herself from nerves, she cast her perfect eyes upward to look at her royal fiancé, a melting smile full of love for him as he looked back at her with just as much affection.

The king looked from his son to his future daughter-in-law, thrilled that his son had finally chosen a bride, after years of sifting carefully through the eligible women of his kingdom. The royal line was secure at last.

And yet…

The grey-haired king sighed sadly as he left the balcony, knowing that he wouldn't be missed for once. His son would be ready to take the throne, after he married the recently promoted maid. After that, he himself would go into retirement.

And do _what_?!

He growled in irritation as he stomped down the hallway, which was empty of servants for once. "If only there was something left for _me_!" he cried out in frustration, pounding one fist into an unoffending wall.

"Your majesty?" a grey-haired advisor by the name of Natori asked in concern, gripping his usual notebook with one arm. "Is something troubling you?"

"Yes," the king grunted as he paced the hallway like a raging bull. "After Lune takes over my duties, I'll be forced to go into retirement. Without politics, there's no spice to my life. How will I endure endless hours of nothing?!"

"Perhaps, my king, you could take up a new hobby," Natori suggested, opening his notebook to start writing in it. "I don't think you've taken more than ten visits to the library in your whole life."

"Reading hurts my eyes," the monarch complained like a child, rubbing his huge mismatched orbs sorely. "You know I'd rather have someone read to me."

"There you go, your majesty. Have someone read to you," Natori said gently, like he was speaking to a child.

"But that would get boring after a while! I like riding my prize horses, but I don't like riding alone."

Natori laughed. "There's little you've ever liked doing alone, my king."

The monarch sighed, and looked up at his dead wife's portrait longingly as tears threatened to burst from his large mismatched eyes from years-old grief. "Yes. And no one was ever a better companion than my dear queen. Nirami always knew how to brighten my day, sometimes without even trying."

"We've all missed the queen," Natori concluded sadly, rubbing away a few unexpected tears of his own. "But one cannot resurrect the dead, my king. Perhaps it would be wise to choose a good loyal companion to share your retirement with."

The king stared at his favorite advisor with shock and delight. "That's it, Natori! A proclamation from the king," he began in an oratory voice, making his oldest friend make a final swipe at his tears and start writing in his notepad again to record the proclamation.

"If a maiden is found bearing the exact resemblance of my departed queen, she shall take her place at my side!" the king announced, his mismatched eyes gleaming happily with a slight hint of madness.

Natori bit back a startled oath, and looked at his king in confusion. "Sire, are you sure about this? What if such a woman can't be found?"

"Of course one will," the king boomed as he nearly skipped down the hallway happily. "Have copies made of my wife's portrait, and give them to as many servants and messengers as we can spare. Let it be known that the one to find my bride will be handsomely rewarded."

"And if she's already married?" Natori asked worriedly.

The king slowly poked his head around the corner, his eyes of fire and ice sparkling with madness. "She had better not be," he hissed. "Now get to work, Natori. I'd hate to fire you, like I had to with your incompetent brother. _You _actually pull your weight around here."

Natori sighed sadly, and bowed low to his monarch. "Yes, Your majesty."

ooOoo

A mere two weeks after the new proclamation was decided by the king, countless men on horses burst from the castle's gate, every single one of them bearing a copy of the queen's portrait. They scattered across the kingdom like dandelion seeds, always searching for the one girl that would make their fortunes. Some found girls that only faintly resembled the deceased queen, while others gave up entirely and returned to the castle empty-handed, only to be turned out again to keep looking for the king's future wife.

This carried on for two months, and the entire kingdom was in an uproar from not only the king's search, but by the fact that the queen had died while the prince was a small child, which in turn meant that the king wished to marry a young woman while he himself was a _very _old man.

It could have quite possibly carried on for years, except…

ooOoo

Late one night, a stranger stumbled into a tavern, dripping wet from the rain that pounded outside.

A young woman with light brown hair looked up sharply from setting a still-steaming turkey on a table for a group of merchants, and quickly made her way to the soaking man.

"Here, let's put you close to the fire, sir," Hiromi said compassionately, easing him into a chair nice and close to the fireplace after hanging his soaking cloak on a peg to dry.

"Th-thank you," the man stuttered gratefully, holding his hands towards the dancing flames eagerly. "Can I have something warm to eat, miss? I haven't had a hot meal since last week."

"I'll ask Mama to fix something," she said while bowing. Then she turned on her heel and ran for the kitchen.

The stranger sighed happily, rubbing his hands together and huddling as close as he dared to the fire. "At least the reception was warmer here than in the last village," he muttered to himself, sighing a little. _'Not that it will mean anything. It never has, and never will. I hate this stupid assignment.'_

"Here you are," the bar maid said, giving him a large bowl of steaming stew and a full tankard of beer. "Anything else I can get you, sir?"

"Um…" the man said hesitantly, un-shouldering the pack so that he could fetch an oilskin-wrapped package from it. "I'm looking for a girl that resembles this woman." He struggled to untie the strings holding the oilskin tight around the portrait, but he still couldn't feel his fingers.

"Let me do that," Hiromi said sympathetically, taking the parcel from him and unwrapping it herself as the man gratefully ate his dinner.

She gently folded the oilskin away from the small portrait, and stared in absolute shock. "You say that you're looking for a girl that looks like the one right here?"

"Yes, but I'll understand if you've never seen a girl like that in your life."

"But I _have _seen one like this. I grew up with her."

"I know, the chances of finding a girl like that are one in a-WHAT?!" the man screamed, jumping to his feet. "You know a girl like this?! Truly?!"

"Sure," Hiromi said casually, folding the oilskin neatly before setting it on the table. "But Haru would never wear a dress like that. She's never been one for finery. Why do you want to meet her so badly?"

"_Exactly _like this?" the man begged, pointing at the portrait desperately.

"Well, if Haru were a few years older and dressed like this woman, I doubt you'd be able to tell the difference between them. Hey, everyone!" Hiromi suddenly called out, holding the portrait high over her head for all to see. "Does this remind you of anyone you've ever seen?"

"Sure, that's Haru," an older woman said casually, the other villagers nodding or voicing their agreement.

"That is, _if _anyone ever managed to persuade her to wear a dress like that," Hiromi's mother said dryly, setting several fresh loaves of bread on the tables as the customers laughed merrily.

The messenger rose to his feet excitedly, and wrapped his still-dripping cloak around him while looking at the light brunette in front of him. "Where does she live? Is she still single? Does she have any family?"

"Hold on there," Hiromi laughed, taking his cloak away with a smile. "Haru lives up the mountain a ways, but there's no chance that you'll be able to go up the path until its light again, at least. Even then, it would be wiser to wait until the mud dries out. But as for your other questions, why do you want to know?"

The messenger straightened proudly. "I'm certain that you've heard of the king's proclamation concerning this portrait."

"No, I haven't," Hiromi said while shaking her head. "We're pretty isolated up here, but what is the king's proclamation?"

"That if a girl is found, resembling the dead queen _exactly_," he said while patting the portrait pointedly, "then she would become the king's wife."

A dead silence met his words.

Slowly, one of the villagers began to laugh, the others in the room following his example like a tidal wave until the room was filled with mirth.

Hiromi was no better, leaning over a table to keep herself steady. "Y-you'd better keep looking then," she told the perplexed messenger between gasps. "Haru won't be interested, I can assure you."

"Is she married?" he asked with horror.

"No. She's in love with a fiancé that died years ago at sea, but she refuses to accept that he's dead. If you try to go up there and tell her that a king wants to marry her, she'll laugh at you and send you right back down the mountain."

"But she'll be a _queen_!" the man protested, making Hiromi laugh harder than ever.

"She's too casual to enjoy that kind of thing, and she refuses to believe that Humbert may not come back for her after all."

"_Humbert_?" the horseman asked, beginning to laugh a little himself.

"You'd better get that out of your system while Haru's not around to hear it," the light brunette told him with a grin. "She tends to get violent when someone offers to disrespect her sweetheart's memory."

"I bet a crown will change her tune," the man said assertively, making the bar maid shake her head slightly.

"And I'll bet that if you press the king's suit for him," Hiromi purred, "you'll be back a few hours after seeing her, in terrible need of a healer."

"She can't be _that _bad!" he scoffed.

For some reason, that made everyone from the village laugh even harder than before.

"You're right," Hiromi assured him while gathering dirty dishes, still laughing cynically. "She's ten times worse."


	5. The Chosen

**Chapter Five: The Chosen**

"Absolutely ridiculous," the messenger muttered to himself the next morning as he urged his mount up the slick mountain trail. "I bet they were just exaggerating about the girl. Surely any girl living alone in a rundown cottage would love to become a queen."

Haru Yoshioka, he had been told by Hiromi, was the daughter of a respected samurai that had died two years before due to a pestilence that had tortured the area, and her mother had died soon afterward from the same disease. Even the family horse had died, and the young woman had never seen a reason to replace him, which left her all alone in the world. The fiancé she still loved had been on a ship that had disappeared without a trace years before, making the locals claim some silly local superstition about sky pirates taking him for who knew what.

To occupy his mind as he struggled of the path, he thought about the reward that his monarch would give him, for finding his bride. That is, _if _the girl resembled the dead queen as much as the villagers had insisted. He sighed, and made a final turn around the forest terrain to come into sight of a large cottage, complete with an empty stable to the side of it.

He blinked, looking around the glen in confusion. "Is this the right place?" he asked out loud, with only occasional birdsong trilling an answer back to him. He sighed and slid off of his horse stiffly, an affectionate pat on the neck telling the mount to graze for a while, which it did gladly.

He gripped the oilskin-covered portrait under one arm, and marched up to the sturdy front door. Breathing through his nostrils, he raised one fist to the door, and began knocking. "Yoshioka-sama?" he called as loudly as he could. "Are you home?"

Only silence met his question, making him sigh and sit down in the doorway to wait for the woman's return. He rested his head between his arms, and allowed his mind to wander. However, he hadn't slept well the night before, due to his excitement of possibly finding the king's bride, so he slowly fell against the door, and surrendered to sweet slumber, the portrait wrapped protectively in one arm.

ooOoo

"Sir?" a soft musical voice asked, and an unseen hand began to shake him awake. "What on earth are you doing all the way up here?"

The messenger groaned, and reluctantly opened his eyes. He opened his mouth to answer the girl, but then stopped cold, staring at her with amazement.

She was about an average height with a slim build that was covered with a simple tan country dress. Her hair, which was a long and straight dark brown, was swept away from her face with what looked like a white handkerchief. Her large eyes were golden brown, with a spark of kindness in them, but also annoyance. In the crook of one arm was a basket almost overflowing with wild herbs and berries. But strangely enough, she also had a wooden katana strapped to her slender waist.

"If you stare long enough, I grow green fur," she said sarcastically, making the man look down to his feet and cough innocently, fighting back the unexpected blush that had crossed his cheeks from the lovely young woman's gaze.

"My apologies, Yoshioka-sama," he said as he rose to his feet, and bowed respectfully. "I didn't mean to offend you."

"I'll survive," she said with a casual shrug. "Now, why were you camped out on my front step?"

He bit his lip nervously, and handed her the oilskin burden that he had been carrying for three months. "I'm looking for a girl that resembles the dead queen exactly, Yoshioka-sama. The king is willing to make such a girl his bride."

Curiously, Haru gently pulled the oilskin away, and stared at the portrait within without so much as changing her expression.

Gravely, she looked up at the messenger, a storm beginning to brew in her dark eyes. "Who put you up to this?" she asked in a low terrible tone, re-wrapping the oilskin around the portrait and giving it back to the man. "Machida? If so, I'll have to reprimand him a little better, next time I see him."

"I don't know anyone named Machida, but the king sent me," the horseman said earnestly. "He's been tearing the kingdom apart, trying to find a girl like you. You won't believe how happy everyone will be to see you at the capital."

"Too bad," she said unsympathetically, firmly grabbing him by the shoulders and easing him away from her door so that she could step inside her house. "I'm already engaged to a fine man, and I will not marry anyone else."

"But you would become a queen!" the messenger protested, blocking her door from closing.

Without warning, she grabbed the front of his shirt, and dragged him so close that they were nearly brushing noses. "Do I _**look**_ like the type to care about riches or rank?" she hissed at him.

He couldn't speak. The hold of her eyes was too great, and he could almost see flames dancing inside of them. His heart felt like it was stopping from fear.

"Exactly," she spat, throwing him to the ground with one hand easily. "Now leave immediately, or I'll have to send you back to the king in pieces. Go!" she barked, sending the man scrambling to his feet and running for his grazing horse. He mounted it one-handed, since he was still gripping the queen's portrait, and urged his horse into a run back down the mountain path.

Haru smiled grimly in satisfaction, and closed the door firmly.

ooOoo

"Wow," Hiromi giggled as the messenger stumbled into the tavern again, and collapsed into a chair. "You're still in one piece. She must have been in a really good mood today."

"_That's _a good mood?" he whispered in horror, wishing that he could hide behind his mother's skirts like a child. "She… she was…"

"She's actually pretty nice, when you get to know her," Hiromi said conversationally, setting a foaming tankard of beer in the man's hands professionally. "But Humbert's death has made her more than a little hostile to anyone that tries to pay court to her. I wouldn't be shocked in the least if a hundred years from now, the descendants of villagers right now will claim to see her spirit standing at the wharf, forever waiting for Humbert to return to her. It's such a shame. They made such a wonderful couple," Hiromi said softly, using a corner of her homespun apron to dab at her tearing eyes regretfully.

"So, she plans on staying in that lonely cottage until she dies, waiting for a ghost to return and marry her?" the messenger asked incredulously.

"Yes," the bar maid sadly, sitting across from the man. "I've tried telling her that her longing for Humbert isn't healthy, and that she desperately needs to move on with her life, but she refuses to listen to me. She'd sooner die than forget about Humbert."

"What was this Humbert like, anyway?" the dark-clad man asked curiously. "He must have been pretty impressive, for her to be so devoted to his memory."

"I don't know about impressive, but…" Hiromi sighed, trying to think of a way to put the blonde boy from her memories into words. "I didn't really know him all that well. He didn't like talking to anyone but Haru, although he was always polite to everyone. His parents were dead, but as far as I could tell, he considered her family to be his, since he was her father's ward and they had grown up together. The only reason he left for sea was that he didn't want her reputation to suffer when they left childhood behind, and he wanted to make enough money to provide a good life for Haru. She still blames herself for not stopping him, or at least not encouraging him to go any direction but the sea. I'd love for Humbert to come back, if nothing else than to make her smile again, but I know better. It's been six years, and there's been no sign of him. He_ has _to be dead, wouldn't you say?"

"One would think," the man said softly, his own eyes melancholy. "If I had a girl like that, I probably wouldn't have been able to stay away from her longer than a year, or at least send a letter every now and again."

"Exactly," Hiromi agreed sadly. "And no one will ever be able to love Haru more than Humbert did."

The messenger sighed sadly. _'As sad as this is, it won't please the king.' _His resolve became stiffened, knowing what it was that he had to do. "Hiromi, is there some place in town where I can purchase paper and ink?"

"Yes," Hiromi said, and then gave him the directions for the general store. "Did you need to write a letter?"

'_No, but I'll need them to draw a picture of Miss Yoshioka while she doesn't know I'm watching her. The king may have his faults, but perhaps he can give her the happiness she deserves.'_

ooOoo

"No!" the king bellowed at the five girls that were gathered in front of him, making them quake in the fancy dresses that had been provided for them to appear before the unstable monarch. "None of these girls look a thing like my wife! Tell them to return home!"

The young women immediately ran out of the room, scarcely taking the trouble to hide their relief until they were out of the king's line of vision.

Luckily, the king wasn't paying attention to them anymore. He stared out of a window pensively, beginning to wonder if there really was a girl somewhere that looked like his dead wife. He sighed, wondering if the proclamation was really such a good idea, after all.

"Your majesty," Natori said respectfully as he entered the room from a side entrance silently. "A messenger's returned."

"Does he have a girl with him?" the king asked angrily.

"No-"

"Then send him back out the walls!" the old monarch ordered, turning back to his window to sulk.

"But he claims to have information on the girl you wish to marry."

The king looked at his advisor grumpily. "Do you think he's telling the truth?" he asked bluntly.

"There is but one way to find out, my king," the kimono-clad old man said gently.

The senile monarch growled angrily. "All right. Send him in."

Natori nodded, and waved a hand at one of the servants, who in turn opened a small door to beckon to the man waiting on the other side.

The messenger was solidly built, with a military bearing as he marched up to his king, and bowed low. "Your majesty," he said with respect.

"What do you have to offer that can persuade me not to throw you in the dungeon?" the monarch demanded angrily. "I remember specifically saying that you needed to bring a girl back, not news of her."

"Forgive me, my king," the man said apologetically as he eased a folded piece of paper from the pocket of his jacket, and offered it to the royal. "This was all I could bring back to you."

A little curious, the king grabbed the paper, and unfolded it to behold its contents.

His already huge eyes became bigger as a thunderous gasp was heard from Natori who had been sneaking a peak over his monarch's shoulder.

"How do I know this isn't a drawing of my wife in a peasant dress?" the king demanded of his strangely calm messenger.

"Because I can show you where to find that girl. She's the daughter of one of your more famous samurais, Hasho Yoshioka."

The king looked up sharply, his face contorting with concentration. "Yes… he made mention of a little girl before he died of some pestilence on a remote mountain somewhere."

"She's grown up now, but I'm afraid there's bad news, my king," the horseman said apologetically. "Miss Haru Yoshioka is engaged to a sailor that disappeared six years ago, and she doesn't appreciate the efforts of anyone that tries to make her forget about that commitment. She doesn't find the prospect of becoming a queen all that appealing, sire," the messenger added nervously with a shudder, remembering that terribly angry look in her eyes just before she had ordered him off her property. He was still suffering from nightmares of that experience.

The king grinned greasily, signaling for Natori to call a captain. "I bet I can change that tune of hers."


	6. The King's Proposal

**Chapter Six: The King's Proposal**

Haru took three whole salmon from a vendor's cart, and paid the burly old fisherman with two small copper coins. "Thank you, Juno-san. Have a nice day."

"You too, Haru-san," the man said gruffly with a sly wink. "Maybe you can finally have a day where no one tries to flirt with you."

"I wish," she replied glumly before walking away from him, her wooden katana digging slightly into her side. Her father had been forced to sell his sword, to buy medicine for her, and she had personally carved this replacement after burying her parents near their home.

She didn't like speaking very much since then, making her fully understand why Humbert had taken so long to really start talking again.

She cast her golden brown eyes up to the sky, and sighed softly. _'Oh, Humbert. I wish you could be here to heal me this time. I miss you more with each passing day. Are you happy, where you are? Do you ever think of me?'_

Arms suddenly wrapped around her from behind, making her drop her basket full of purchases so that she could throw her assailant over one shoulder without even blinking. "I thought I told you to stop that, Machida," she growled tiredly, sick of having to beat the boy away with her wooden katana every time she needed to sell or buy in the village.

"Hey!" the tall young man cried out as he landed on his back, knocking the wind out of him. "I was just trying to-"

"I know what you were trying to do," she said acidly, picking up her basket again. "How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not interested? Go pick on someone else, Machida."

"I'm not picking on you anymore!" the black-haired youth wailed, bowing at her feet with his forehead touching the ground in absolute submission to the girl. "I told you, I left that behind me years ago! Please, just give me a chance, Haru-kun! I can make you happy if you'll just let me! I love you!"

"That's very unfortunate," Haru said emotionlessly as she walked away from him. "You know I gave my heart to Humbert, and it's still with him. Leave me alone, already."

"But he's not coming back!" Machida protested as he continued to trail the girl as she passed by some vendors and bought from others.

Still not changing her expression, Haru suddenly swiped her stalker's legs out from underneath him, and kept walking. "Yes he will. I have faith in him."

A sudden group of trumpets blew from behind her, the tone more regal than anyone in the village had ever heard before.

The slim brunette turned around curiously to see what had earned such a royal fanfare.

The only thing it could be called was a parade. There were liveried soldiers marching down the middle of the main street of the village, their faces flinching slightly as they stared at her personally. Behind them, she could spy a golden carriage with no roof over the top of it, bearing a richly dressed figure that wore a large crown on his brow like a war banner. Even Machida was staring open-mouthed at the king of the land for the first time in his life, everyone in the village frozen silent as their eyes also trailed to the samurai's daughter.

The proclamation was well known, and even those who hadn't seen the dead queen's portrait knew that Haru resembled her exactly.

Remembering the messenger from one or two weeks ago, Haru turned away from the parade with a cold heart, and began walking down the street to the side of the parade, trying to look as casual as possible.

"Halt!" a rusty old voice called out harshly from the royal parade.

Feeling a little helpless, Haru stopped dead in her tracks, her expression still blank as she stared in front of her, and the parade began to file past her, every pair of eyes locked on her face.

Eventually, the parade came to a stop, the royal carriage directly to the left of her. But she was still facing the front, not wishing to appear eager for what the king was certain to ask her.

If anyone could have been bothered to drop a pin, the noise would have felt thunderous in the otherwise dead silent marketplace.

"Excuse me," the king growled softly after a moment of looking at the side of her face.

Haru slowly turned her head to look at the king disinterestedly.

He was _old_! She had known that both her father and grandfather had served the current monarch, but the realization had never hit her the way it did at that moment, a scant two yards away from him. A slightly greasy smile of satisfaction was on his lips as he looked at her, up and down.

She flushed slightly with anger, but kept her tone deceptively calm. "Yes, your majesty?" she asked, bowing from the waist respectfully, despite her personal feelings on the subject he was certain to speak of.

He smiled disgustingly again. "So, you're Haru Yoshioka?"

"That's right, your majesty," she confirmed, but did not say anything more, secretly hoping to get on his nerves.

A flicker of annoyance came over his famed mismatched eyes, but he managed to get himself under control again. "I think you know why I'm here, Haru," he said bluntly, cutting off the coughing servant that had been riding on a horse on the other side of him, like he was about to formally address the fat old monarch.

Haru nodded numbly. "You wish to clear up a misunderstanding that happened between me and your messenger?"

"That's right," the king said, smiling widely now. "It's very simple, Haru. You look exactly like my dead queen, so you get to be my new one."

"It's _not _that simple, your majesty," she disagreed, taking a step from the horse-drawn carriage as he moved to one side of it, presumably to make room for her. "The messenger must have forgotten to mention that I am happily engaged to a fine man, and as such am unavailable. Thanks for the thought, though."

The king studied her, his bulbous eyes narrowing dangerously. "I was also told that he was dead."

Haru's hands balled into painful fists, her nails digging into her flesh. "Until I see his body for myself, I will not believe that," she said tightly, bowing one more time. "If you'll excuse me, your majesty, I have a number of things left to do today."

"You're _not _excused!" he snapped, gesturing to the spot right next to him. "You're coming to the castle, you're going to marry me, and that's final! Get in the carriage!" he bellowed at her.

She locked eyes with him, her temper quickly gaining momentum. "This is going to turn unpleasant, I think," she said calmly. "Everyone that isn't involved with my disagreement with the king had better seek their homes immediately. This is going to turn messy very shortly, and I don't want any unnecessary casualties."

Like her words had broken a terrible spell, all of the villagers grabbed as much of their belongings that they could, and made a mad dash for their homes. Even Machida didn't offer to stay and help her.

She wasn't shocked. Machida wasn't equipped to cope with emergencies.

The king looked up in amazement, watching the townsmen run across the street, and the repeated sound of doors slamming and locking made loud and clear.

"Haru-chan?" Hiromi asked, touching her friend's shoulder.

The brunette looked at her childhood companion tenderly, and patted her hand. "You go too, Hiromi-chan. I'll be okay."

The lighter-haired girl looked down at her feet, nodded, and quickly hugged her friend hard before running for the tavern.

And when that last door closed, the samurai's daughter was left alone with the king and his revenue.

"This next part should be interesting," Haru said drily, unsheathing the wooden katana that was constantly strapped to her side to ward off unwanted attentions from idiotic people. "So, do you want to order your soldiers to make the first move, sire, or should I start?"

"What are you talking about?" the king demanded, privately impressed that she could already issue commands like a queen.

"Isn't it obvious? You're going to try to take me into custody, and I'm going to do everything in my power to escape. You waited too long, so _I'll _make the first move." With that, she ran like a gazelle down the empty street.

"After her!" the king barked in chagrin, making all the soldiers give chase to the rapidly disappearing girl.

Haru made a sharp turn at a bend, pressing her body close to the alley wall as the soldiers ran right past her.

"Wait, she's over here!" one soldier called as she ran deeper into the alley, wishing for little more than limited space, so that she wouldn't have to fight more than five at a time.

That was one of the first lessons her father had ever taught her. If you're outnumbered by more than five, find a way to funnel their attacks so that you won't be overwhelmed.

Once she reached the end of the alley, she set her basket in a shadowy corner, and held her katana ready for the soldiers that began to come at her, five at a time.

Never changing her expression, Haru began to weave between the uniformed men, carefully aiming her strikes to merely incapacitate them, since they were only doing their job. With each graceful stroke, one or more of the soldiers fell into a heap, creating a sort of barricade that the following men had to walk around or over in order to reach her, although it screamed with uniformed men with funnily bent limbs or those that were just unconscious.

The rest of them filed messily out of the alley, screaming like little girls in terror after twenty seven of the soldiers were down for the count.

But Haru didn't sheathe her weapon yet, her gaze icy cold as she stepped around the huge pile of men that had threatened to lock her in the back of the alley, and calmly stepped into the light again, her small basket once more settled neatly into the crook of her arm.

The king was gaping at her with shock, and the robed servant had dropped a sort of book onto the ground, staring at her like she wasn't human.

Haru watched the remaining soldiers flee with a grim satisfaction. "It appears you should have brought more men, your majesty. Maybe some with actual training. I don't think I've even worked up a sweat." She bowed slightly to the lounging man, almost mockingly, and began walking away.

"Hey! You can't just walk away from me like that!" the king howled as his horse-drawn carriage kept pace with her, thanks to the terrified coachman.

"I can, and I am," Haru said calmly, keeping her eyes on the road in front of her, still holding her katana with one hand instead of sheathing it just in case the king tried to attack her.

"I am your _king_! It is your duty to submit to my will!" he screamed at her.

She stopped in her tracks, still looking forward with an icy expression on her face. "Your majesty," she said in clipped tones. "If you allowed girls to be samurais, and you called on me to fight for you, I'd do it probably without thinking about it. If you had asked me to be your servant, I might have done that as well. But what you're demanding of me goes far beyond the realms of propriety. I'm young enough to be your granddaughter, and to be as frank as possible, I feel nothing for you personally but contempt."

Haru suddenly looked straight into the king's mismatched eyes of fire and ice, so that he could see the barely concealed fury in her own. "Years ago, I swore an oath to marry no one but my beloved, and I'd give you nothing but trouble if you made me be your queen. Would you really be happy, having a wife that openly loved another man? There are many things you can order me to do, your majesty, but loving you is not one of them, and neither is marriage. Raise an army if you insist. I'll just take your men down again, as many times as you send them to take me. I'll just be up that mountain path if they want to know where to find me." She gestured to the trail leading up to her home, and quickened her pace slightly, knowing that the carriage wouldn't be able to take the trail more than five feet. "If you don't mind, I need to get home and start on dinner. That fight left me famished."

The king looked at the trail with horror, realizing that he would have to _walk _up it in order to press his suit with the girl. He thought desperately, trying to think of something that would force this stubborn woman into submitting to his wishes.

"Your majesty," Natori tried to say, but the king batted one hand at him to be silent, a mad gleam suddenly in his mismatched eyes.

"That's all right, Haru," the old monarch called tauntingly to the girl nearly running up the mountain path, making her turn around curiously, like she wasn't expecting him to give up so easily. "When I send my troops again, they aren't going to take a single step up that trail."

"Oh? And why's that?" she said disinterestedly, adjusting the hold on her basket with one hand. "I hardly ever come down to the village."

"_You _won't be their target," the king explained, a naughty smile on his lips. "They'll be too busy killing, looting, burning… you know, the usual kind of thing that happens during raids. Once I give the word, your _quaint _little village will be nothing more than a memory."

"Your _majesty_!" Natori gasped in disbelief

Just as he knew it would, the little announcement caught the brunette's undivided attention. Showing more emotion than the king had seen out of her yet, she stormed back down the path with flaming eyes, tossing her basket aside as she held her wooden sword with both hands.

"You leave the villagers out of this," she hissed at him. "They have nothing to do with our little disagreement!"

"No? I think they do," the king purred, thrilled to have found a weak spot in her defenses. "I imagine if there are any survivors, they'll despise you until the end of their miserable lives."

"You filthy coward!" Haru spat at him, holding her katana a little higher. "If you're so eager for blood, come out of that carriage and get it yourself!"

"I don't think so. I forgot my sword," the king said lazily, patting the seat right next to him. "I think the next part is obvious, babe. Either you drop that wooden toy of yours and take your place at my side, or you can try to defend an entire village by yourself. As good as you obviously are, I think we both know that innocent casualties will be inevitable at that point. Come now; make your decision. It's a long trip back to the capital." The king snapped his fingers impatiently at her, a terrible grin on his smug face.

Haru stared at him helplessly as images of military atrocities danced in her head. As much as she hated to admit it… he was right. There was no telling how many soldiers the king could send up here, and she really was only one person. Things would be different if she had an army of her own, but she didn't.

As the gory image of a soldier's bayonet running through a screaming Hiromi filtered through her thoughts, she realized what she had to do, although her soul shuddered from the very idea.

'_I won't cry,' _she silently told herself as she dropped the katana she had carved for a solid month, letting it fall to the earth with a dull thud. She moved with labored steps up to the carriage, and got in with ease, sitting herself as far away from the king as she could manage. _'I'll never give this monster the satisfaction of watching me cry.'_

An amazed coachman clicked his tongue at the matching white horses, and eased them out of narrow place they had stopped in as the king easily put an arm around the stiff brunette's back, a sleazy smile on his face.

"What would your majesty suggest I do with the stragglers?" Natori asked from his horse, although his eyes were still full of horror.

"Tell them to head back to the capital as soon as they're done healing," the king ordered, smiling sickeningly at his prize. "I can pick up more guards at my summer castle, since its half a day's journey from here, and I'm in quite a hurry to show off _my _beautiful bride," he gloated disgustingly.

As Haru half-listened to the old king boast about the double wedding he would hold with his son, she realized something that made her want to bang her head against the side of the carriage in frustration.

There had been a third possibility that the king didn't think about, and now it was too late to take it.

She thought about that possibility as she tried desperately to ignore the feel of his hand on her waist. No, that option was still open, technically speaking. She could reach over right now and execute it.

But she had never done anything so… _permanent_ before. Her father had given her all the instruction she needed in the area, but she still felt reluctant to actually apply the knowledge.

But when considering the prospect of being married to a cruel old fool, when Humbert could quite possibly appear as suddenly as he had disappeared, she stiffened her resolve.

To execute her plan immediately wouldn't do at all. Her village would doubtlessly take the blame, and would become subject to the soldiers she was trying to keep from coming. She needed to bid her time carefully. It would be better to do the deed after they reached the capital, but before the wedding day the king was planning out for them, so that there would be no doubt that she was the guilty one. The penalty didn't frighten her all that much, and the alternative of possibly spending years as a lecher's wife gave her the last bit of resolve she needed. Besides, she owed it to the old man seated next to her to allow him to think he had won before she pulled the carpet out from underneath him.

She snuck a glance at the old man at her side, and gave a half-smile that was a little too ominous for one about to become a royal should have been able to do. _'I hope you enjoy saying 'fiancée', old man, because you'll never call me 'wife'.' _She sighed silently in order not to attract the king's attention, and looked to the heavens again longingly.

"_Humbert, where are you?_"she mouthed soundlessly as her heart broke anew, although she was screaming the question in the silences of her soul.


	7. The Prince

**Chapter Seven: The Prince**

Prince Lune, to say the least, was outraged. Brushing past the nervous servants that tried to impede his progress, he stormed into the dressing room. His father was trying on a new outfit, now that he had just arrived back in the capital.

"Father!" he cried out angrily, making the monarch turn around slightly and grin at his heir.

"My, you came faster than usual. I have excellent news, son. I'll be getting married at the same time you are."

"Father, please tell me that the rumors flying around the palace aren't true," Lune begged, dodging the tailor as he circled the king with a pincushion strapped to one wrist. "You didn't really threaten to destroy the girl's village to get her to consent to this marriage, did you?"

"I didn't _want_ to have to threaten it," the king said plaintively, turning around once again so that he could face his sole heir. "But Haru left me no other choice, son. Things would have been different if her father hadn't passed on his training experience to her, so I had to make do with what I had."

"Father…" the prince struggled to say. "You can't do this!"

"Why not?" the king growled irritably.

"The girl will despise you for the rest of her life, and our subjects will turn against you. One servant told me that the girl's even younger than I am!"

"Only by five years," the king said defensively, turning back the mirrors lining the corner of the room. "I think you should meet her, son. I think you'll understand my eagerness to wed when you get a good look at her. She looks just like your mother," he said worshipfully.

"But she _isn't_!" Lune yelled. "You can dress her up in Mother's clothes, and give her lessons to act like Mother, but she will never be my mother!"

"Watch your tone, young man!" the king barked, snapping his fingers to make a small army of servants appear. "Take my son to his room," he ordered them, his glassy eyes gleaming maniacally. "Keep him there for the rest of the day as punishment. I want his temper to cool down before he meets his new step-mother."

"Father-" Lune tried to protest, but Natori grabbed his shoulder.

"Allow me to escort him, your majesty," the advisor entreated his monarch. "Perhaps I can enlighten him."

The king nodded his assent, making the army of servants dissolve back through the curtains and small doorways they had entered through. Firmly, the head advisor guided the crown prince out of the room, and into the hall.

Once they were out of sight of the king, Lune brushed away Natori's hand angrily. "When I take over the kingdom," the crown prince hissed at the man, "The first thing I'm going to do is send you into retirement with my father, and then get someone that actually has a backbone to advise me."

"I'm not the one you're angry at, my prince," Natori said firmly, his eyes a little sad, but steady. "I did try to stop him, but you know your father. There was nothing I could do-"

"Especially since you never _try_!" Lune snapped, his eyes filled with loathing. "I was there when your only brother, the last family you had left, was whipped and thrown out of the castle for something a sane monarch would have overlooked. You didn't raise a single finger to help your own flesh and blood, why should anyone expect you to help a defenseless girl against an unwanted marriage?!"

"The _last _thing that girl is, is defenseless!" the advisor said hotly, shuddering from the memory. "She took down a royal legion in under twenty minutes!"

"But that didn't help her when Father blackmailed her with the village's fate! Just stay away from me, Natori. The very sight of you sickens me." Shaking his head in disgust, Prince Lune marched down the hallway alone, his body rigid with hate.

Natori watched the young prince go with a heavy heart. _'It's not that simple, Lune. Does he really think that I __**didn't **__want to help Natoru?' _The old advisor sighed, and started walking down the opposite direction of the crown prince, feeling more alone than ever before. _'I had been groomed to serve the royal family since childhood. It was something I had looked forward to all my life. Now I'm living my dream… and there's no way to escape the nightmare I've helped create. Heaven forgive me…'_

ooOoo

It wasn't until the day after the king arrived, that Lune was able to bring himself to seek out the poor girl that would become his stepmother.

"Darling," his pale love said worriedly as he passed her, a soft touch stopping him in his tracks. "Would you like me to come with you?"

"No, thank you, Yuki," the crown prince said to his fiancée sadly, stealing a kiss from her. "For the first time, at least… I need to meet her alone. To apologize for what's happened to her, if nothing else."

"It wasn't your fault," she insisted, but that didn't lessen the guilt he felt.

He kissed her softly, and kept moving for the east wing of the palace, where the prospective queen was kept under tight watch.

He eventually reached the suite he knew the girl was in, the soldier outside her door straightening noticeably at the prince's approach.

"Is my father's intended inside?" he inquired of the soldier.

"She is, highness," the soldier said promptly. "Shall I announce you?"

"No," Lune said hastily, somehow certain that such a move would not endear him to her, if he even had a chance at all. "Just… just ask her if she'll receive me for a moment or two. I can come back later if she'd rather be alone right now."

"You could be waiting awhile, your highness," the man warned. "That's all she's wanted ever since she came here. You've never seen a more depressed girl than her, my prince. But I can try, I suppose. The royal seamstresses left not too long ago, so there won't be anyone else in there." He bowed once, and held the spear in his grasp casually as he turned around, and opened the door enough to stick half of his body through it. "My lady? The prince requests a moment of your time."

A somewhat stiff pause followed the guard's words.

"Let him in, I guess," a melancholy voice sighed sadly, making the soldier open the door a little wider for the crown prince to step through.

"Be gentle with her, please," the guard begged him, tears almost falling down his own face in sympathy for the poor girl.

Lune nodded once, and stepped through the doorway. He stopped dead in his tracks, barely noticing as the door shut solidly behind him, his eyes wide with shock.

He had known that if his father's scheme had come to pass, his stepmother would look precisely like the mother he barely remembered, but he was still unprepared for the being sitting listlessly in a dark corner of the room, her face pulled tight with lack of sleep.

The red gown that echoed his mother's style suited her wonderfully, but her arms were crossed over her chest, holding a finely woven shawl tight against her slim form to ward off a chill that could have only come from the heart.

The young brunette studied him with a calm detachment, as he openly stared at her. "You look like a younger version of your father," she noted disinterestedly, pulling the shawl even tighter against her body. "I hope you're smarter than he is. Tell me, is your bride being blackmailed as well?"

"No," Lune managed to say, slowly walking toward her, fighting back an irrational urge to hurl himself into her lap, weeping 'Mother!' "I asked Yuki privately to accept me as her husband, and she said yes. I wouldn't have forced her, if she wished to remain friends alone. I just want her to be happy."

She looked at him with interest, sighing sadly. "You're a better man than your father. But then again, you would almost _have _to be."

Lune nodded sadly, stopping about two yards in front of the poor girl. No longer able to meet her gold-tinged gaze, he looked at the hem of her long skirt instead. Slowly, he got to one knee, and then the other.

"What are you _doing_?!" she asked in a panic, standing up from her chair as he lowered his forehead to the blood red carpet lining her rooms, her yell making the soldier burst through the door with his weapon raised.

"I'm so sorry for all this," he whispered, tears finally falling from his eyes and into the lush carpet. "If I had realized that there really was a girl in the kingdom that resembled my departed mother, I'd have done something to stop this. I tried speaking to my father on your behalf, but he's bent on marrying you, even if it means earning the hatred of everyone in the kingdom. I'm so sorry," he wept.

She looked down at him, her lower lip twitching slightly as she gestured with one hand for the guard to leave the room again. He nodded in relief, and closed the door behind him.

The slim brunette kneeled on the carpet in front of the prince, and made him look up at her. "What do you mean by 'the hatred of the kingdom'?" she asked curiously. "I hardly know anyone outside the village personally."

"Word of what my father's holding over you is spreading like wildfire," Lune explained miserably, locked in her gaze. "How can anyone love a king that willing to kill an entire village _just _for the chance to marry a girl several decades younger because she looks like his first wife? Believe me, Miss; the entire kingdom is on your side."

She sighed, leaning against the chair's legs so that she could be at an eye level with the prince, who was now sitting on the ground with her. "That will come in handy in two months' time. May I ask a favor of you, your highness?"

"Call me Lune, please," he urged her. "Ask any favor of me, and I'll deliver if I can."

"Can I trust you?" she asked bluntly, holding the shawl close again. "I desperately need at least one real friend right now, and I have a very serious problem that I'd like a second opinion on, by someone that won't rat me out to the king."

Lune nodded, pounding one fist over his heart. "Anything you tell me in confidence will not cross my lips, even to my bride, without your permission." He suddenly blinked, and smiled sheepishly. "My apologies. I just realized that if I had been told your name, I've forgotten it."

"It's Haru. Haru Yoshioka."

His head snapped up in shock. "Hasho's daughter?!"

She looked him directly in the eye. "And proud of it, thank you very much."

"You should be," he told her very seriously, remembering what Natori had told him about her the day before. "He was a great man, and a wonderful warrior."

"You've met him?" she asked in surprise.

"Only a handful of times," Lune admitted, staring at her anew. "But suffice it to say, he left an impression on me."

"Did you also know Harold Gikkingen?" she asked eagerly.

"No," Lune said after a moment's thought. "At least, the name doesn't ring a bell. Who was he?"

Haru bit her lip sadly, and looked at the door nervously. When she spoke again, her voice was soft, so soft that he almost couldn't hear her. "Listen closely, Lune, for I don't think it would be wise for me to repeat this. Harold Gikkingen was a friend of my father's that died in battle, so my father took Harold's son home to raise as his own. The son, Humbert, is not only my childhood sweetheart, but also the man I swore to marry six years ago before he took to the sea as a cabin boy so that he could raise the money to marry me. I haven't heard from him since, and everyone back in the village urged me to forget about him, but I can't. I don't even want to try, but everyone refuses to respect how I feel, including your father. He knows I love Humbert with all my heart, but he doesn't care. This is where things turn critical for you," she hissed softly, making him nod his head to assure her that he was still listening, although his mismatched eyes were wide with shock.

"I swore to marry no one but Humbert, and he swore the same thing to me. I still intend to honor my oath, even if it means killing your father the day of the marriage, to keep the village safe from the crown's wrath."

The prince gasped, but she held up one hand to stop him from interrupting her quite yet.

"I won't run from judgment, Lune. I have been preparing myself for a messy public execution since the king forced me to abandon my home in favor of his. But here is my question; can you think of a better alternative that won't require me to make my first kill a royal one? Because I can't think of a single thing that won't condemn me or my village, and there's a slight possibility that despite everything he's done, you're still fond of your father."

Lune bit his lip, like he was biting back a comment about his father. He suddenly stood up, and began to pace the room angrily, his face contorted with conflicting thoughts.

Haru watched him pace for several minutes, wondering if her faith had been misplaced, after all.

No. Even if he ratted her out to the king, he'd have to do _something _with her besides marrying her.

Suddenly, Lune stopped pacing. "I think I have it," he whispered, slowly looking over at the brunette. He rushed over, and grabbed her hands. "Haru," he said seriously. "How do you feel about being kidnapped?"

"Not that well," she answered honestly, almost smiling. "Besides, I can beat off anyone that might try something that foolish."

"But you won't!" he replied eagerly. "Make it look like you can't stop it! Listen to me; I can hire professional mercenaries to kidnap you publicly, and then secretly take you to a remote convent somewhere in another country. You could choose then to stay or leave after they drop you off, and you'll know better than to return home or to any place in the kingdom. Your village would be safe because no one will suspect that it was a coup, you wouldn't have to marry my father, who'll be tearing the kingdom apart for you, possibly until the day he dies or until he surrenders the throne to me, which he swore to do the day after I marry Yuki. Everyone but my father wins."

Haru stared at him in amazement, and bowed low to him with respect. "That is the most attractive offer I've heard since Humbert proposed to me, Lune. I'll gladly put up with the inconvenience of getting kidnapped to stay clear of the altar. Can you recruit mercenaries in time?"

"A week should be all I need," he promised her, standing up to take his leave. "Under different circumstances, I wouldn't mind keeping you around, but perhaps it would be for the best if you disappeared, with all due respect. Would you like me to ask Yuki to keep you company? She's very good at lifting one's spirits."

"If it won't inconvenience her too much," the brunette said gratefully, still pulling the shawl tightly around her shoulders. "Thank you for helping me, Lune-chan."

The crown prince smiled affectionately at her, and left the room. "My pleasure, Haru-chan."


	8. The Public Introduction

**Chapter Eight: The Public Introduction**

Haru wasn't looking forward to her public introduction to the people of the capital. The overly fancy yellow dress she had been forced into by the three ladies in waiting the king had assigned to care for her needs was itchy beyond anyone's business. She leaned unceremoniously against the wall of the hallway that led out to the throng of people, where the king was pompously informing his people that he would marry a lady who was once a commoner like themselves, the same day his son would marry on the eight hundredth anniversary of their kingdom's founding. She sighed, wishing to return to her room and choose more comfortable attire.

"It's not so bad," Yuki comforted her with a nervous smile, looking out the entrance. "You walk out there regally, and let people look at you for a few minutes while they bow to you. It'll be over within ten minutes."

"Except I hate being stared at," Haru confessed to her new friend, holding her hand in a vice-like grip for comfort.

"I'm afraid that's something you'll have to get used to," the white blonde apologized, gently guiding the brunette to the center of the red carpet as the king demanded to know if his subjects would like to meet his intended.

Haru found the following silence a little foreboding. There had been nothing to hint that the people even cared whether the king married or not.

But a devilish thought still crept into her mind. "I wonder what the people would think if I swaggered out there like a drunkard," she mused out loud, making Yuki giggle in horror as the guards also in the hallway struggled to stifle their laughter.

"Please don't do it, Haru," the prince's bride begged. "It would be hilarious, but the king might just punish you even worse."

"What could he possibly do to me that he hasn't already done?" Haru demanded in irritation.

"He could throw you in the dungeon until the wedding day," Yuki pointed out sadly.

"My people… my future queen… Haru!" the king proclaimed grandly, his words followed by a suitably regal fanfare.

The slim brunette sighed, squared her shoulders, and slowly stepped away from her friend and into the light.

The people stared at her sadly, as she made her way to the end of the long red carpet. She looked right back at them, making no attempt to hide the melancholy that surrounded her like an aura. She saw no reason to hide her sadness from them, especially since Lune had assured her that the common people already knew she had no reason to smile.

But what happened next startled her. With tears in their eyes, every single commoner that caught sight of her didn't just bow, but got down on their knees and touch their foreheads to the cold stones underneath them in the ultimate gesture of submission and respect. From above, she could even hear the king and prince gasp in surprise, since no one ever showed them such honor, except on very special occasions.

"You don't have to bow so low," Haru whispered to the people bowing closest to her. "Please, it's not needed."

"We think it is," an old man with snow white hair whispered back, looking up at her with tearing eyes. "If your father were alive to see this, his heart would surely break from grief."

Haru smiled wanly. "More like he would storm the castle and take me home after killing the king. He was never all that fond of him, anyway."

Those close enough to hear her laughed lightly, but did not get up.

"This is outrageous," the king muttered angrily under his breath as Natori struggled to soothe him.

"They're taken with her already, my king," the old advisor pointed out gently, although he was privately as shocked as the king was. "This bodes well for the marriage, I think."

Lune struggled not to scoff out loud, running one hand through his dark, almost pearl grey hair as he struggled not to let his true emotions show.

But even the prince was shocked as the girl everyone believed would become his stepmother bowed low from the waist to the people, silently thanking them for the gesture of respect.

'_Please don't worry about me, everyone,' _Haru silently told them, smiling softly. _'Lune's mercenaries should come for me the day after tomorrow, and I'll never see the king's ugly face again. I'll be free soon enough.'_

ooOoo

"What were you thinking?!" the king demanded as he grabbed his betrothed's arm after the public introduction. "Royalty _never _bow like that to commoners!"

"I'm not a royal yet," Haru said disinterestedly, pinching his arm to make him let go of her. "Besides, it didn't hurt anything."

"Except _my _reputation!" he bellowed at her, raising one fist angrily.

Yuki gasped as Lune took a mutinous step forward to help her.

Haru watched the fist with a calm detachment. "Go right ahead," she said calmly. "Hit me. You know I can hit back, and I won't be gentle about it."

The fist faltered, and the king glared at her as he lowered his arm.

"Remember, it was _your _idea to bring a peasant girl inside the castle," Haru taunted him, her rage barely kept in check. "How is a commoner like me supposed to know how royalty behave?"

He grunted at her, and began stomping down the hallway. "Natori!" he roared over one shoulder. "Get her a tutor so she won't humiliate me in public anymore!"

"Yes, Your majesty," the advisor said automatically, looking at the slim brunette like he couldn't believe that she had _defied _the king, despite the fact that it wasn't the first time she had done so.

She looked back at him coldly, and turned to walk down the opposite end of the hall, Lune and Yuki quickly joining her.

"You shouldn't play these games, Haru," Yuki scolded her softly, hugging her tenderly from the left side of the king's intended. "He could have hurt you."

"But he knows I can hurt him right back," she answered grimly, patting the blonde's hands tenderly. "Don't worry; I know what I'm doing."

"Haru," Lune struggled to whisper as they made their way back to her room. "Please don't antagonize my father for a while."

"But it's so much _fun_!" Haru protested like an ill-bred child, although she was smiling impishly. "It's not like I have any duties to keep me busy besides standing around and looking pretty."

"Just hang in there," the prince told her, trying to say more than that with his eyes. He sighed, and opened the door for her. "Are you sure you don't want to come visit the lake for a picnic with us today?"

"Pretty sure, but I appreciate the gesture," she said sincerely, pulling at the collar of the overly fancy dress. "Right now, all I want is to get out of this torture."

"All of us do," Yuki giggled, her hand unconsciously straying to the neck of her fancy light pink gown. "_Please_, Haru? Come with us?"

"Pretty please?" Lune added, a childish smile on his own lips.

"You overgrown children," Haru laughed, throwing her hands up in defeat. "So, we'll meet in the main hall in half an hour?"

"Sounds good to me," Yuki said, impulsively hugging the brunette's neck before walking away with her prince, who was still smiling.

Haru shook her head good-naturedly at the guard helplessly as he struggled not to laugh, and walked into her room, where the ladies in waiting were, well… waiting for her.

"What did the people think of you, my lady?" Risa asked, pulling back the long sleeves of her purple dress so that she could work Haru's fancy collar loose from her yellow dress, and then unweave the amber gems from the girl's long dark hair.

"Unless I've missed my guess," the brunette said dryly, moving behind the screen so that the three ladies in waiting could help her out of the dress, "The people like me more than the king, and it's driving him crazy."

Riya giggled mutinously, throwing a rebellious lock of golden hair over the shoulder of her pink dress as she rifled through Haru's impressively large wardrobe for a change of attire. "What would you like to wear now, my lady?"

The slim woman thought about it. What was appropriate for a picnic by the lake, if the king allowed her to go, even if it was with a heavy guard? She shook those thoughts aside as her eyes became drawn to a particular sleeve peeking out from between the other dresses crammed into the wardrobe. "Let me see the green one."

"There are five of them," Riya reminded her with another giggle. "Which one do you want?"

"The one the color of spring grass," she said poetically, watching the lady in waiting fish out the right dress while Risa and Rima helped her out of the huge yellow gown.

The green dress was a simple design that almost resembled a kimono in the front with long sleeves and a severely modest neckline, except that the skirt flowed a little too much at the bottom, and the hem was high enough to expose her ankles and a few inches of her leg.

"That's a riding dress," the blue-clad Rima informed her. "Surely you'll want something different?"

"No, this one's perfect for the outing with the prince and princess," Haru declared, although she could care less about the design. It was the color that made her heart thump with memories. "Would you mind picking out a pair of leather boots that will match, Riya?"

"Of course not," the pink-clad lady in waiting said as she handed the dress to her big sisters, and ran back to the wardrobe to start sifting through her shoes.

It was ridiculous, Haru decided as she allowed the two ladies in waiting to wrap the dress around her slender form, and secure it fast with tiny buttons. She had been fine with having only two or three dresses at any given point in her entire life, and now she had more clothes then she could hope to wear in a month! Where she had once only worn shoes during the winter, she was now required to wear them everywhere, even in the privacy of her own room. Miserably, she wondered if she would ever just get the chance to run barefoot through the dew-drenched morning grass again. Or even be able to dress herself without unneeded help again.

"How are these, my lady?" Riya asked, holding up a pair of knee-high leather boots a lovely tan color.

"Those will work just fine," Rima assured her little sister, speaking for Haru as the brunette was forced to take a seat at the open window, so that her delicate feet could be slipped out of the little golden slippers they were currently in and into the boots that hugged her legs gracefully.

"And for a final touch," Risa said dramatically, running a bristled brush through Haru's long dark brown hair a few times before wrapping it into a simple low ponytail with a small green ribbon that matched the girl's dress.

The three sisters stood back, and beheld their work. Haru smiled a little at them, and got out of her chair in order to look at herself in the large mirror on the other side of the screen.

The dress fit her like a glove, and suited her far better than the yellow monstrosity she had been forced into earlier. This kind of dress, she could handle.

"Thank you," Haru said simply, bowing to the ladies in waiting.

"My lady," Risa scolded her. "You're not supposed to bow to servants."

"That's what the king said," Haru said impishly. "I'm adding it to the list of things I can do to annoy him for the rest of his life."

As the sisters did their best to smother their giggles, the soldier that customarily stood watch outside of her door poked his head in.

"My lady?" he asked politely, making the brunette turn around to face him.

"Yes?" she asked, just as politely, secretly amused as the poor guard's face turned a slightly darker shade of red as he looked at her.

"There are two emissaries from King Unmar of Figlash that request a moment of your time. They have a wedding gift for you."

Her heart sank. "Tell them to send it to wherever the king is keeping the gifts, please," she said disinterestedly.

"They insist that this gift is solely for you, my lady. Apparently there's a separate gift for the king," the guard said dubiously.

Haru looked over at her ladies in waiting. "Has it been half an hour since I came in?" she asked curiously.

"No, My lady," Rima assured her, her eyes sparkling. "You have plenty of time to open an early wedding present."

The slim brunette sighed, not wanting to be reminded of the wedding. "Let them in, I guess."

The guard nodded first to her, and then opened the door as wide as it would go.

The reason for this became clear as two men walked into her chambers, each of them holding a side of a large intricately carved wooden chest. But Haru barely even noticed the chest, as she stared at the bigger man.

He was a _giant_! Or quite nearly, at least. He had a mop of medium brown hair that fell over his eyes in a disheveled manner, despite the fact that he had clearly taken some pains to comb it recently. His clothes, although clean, were rather simple, but did little to hide how his muscles bulged underneath the sturdy fabric.

The other man wasn't half as remarkable, although his black hair was just as messy as his companion's, but he, at least, was dressed in a black uniform with gold braids streaming from it. For some reason, the uniform looked familiar to her.

About the only thing that the two had in common, though, was the white lily pinned to their jackets, almost directly underneath their chins. Was the lily a badge of office in Figlash?

The ladies in waiting gasped at the sight of the giant, and trembled against each other fearfully.

"Stop that," Haru chided them before looking at the two emissaries again. "Gentlemen," she acknowledged with a nod.

The giant humphed. "Where do you want the chest, Chicky?"

Haru's jaw fell open in shock as the darker man suddenly dropped his side of the trunk, and walked around it in order to punch the giant's arm angrily.

"Dang it, Muta! You can't go around calling royalty 'Chicky'!" the black-clad messenger yelled in frustration.

"She's not a royal yet!" the giant defended, looking at the green-clad girl pleadingly. "Are you?"

She slowly shook her head, and took a breath to regain her composure as the guard also stepped inside the room, closing the door behind him. Haru guessed that was standard protocol with letting strangers into her room. "Right there's fine," she said calmly, making the giant shrug and set his side of the chest down with a smirk to his dark friend as they both stepped away from the carved present.

"You see, Bird Brain? She didn't even ask me to apologize."

"I've been called worse things than Chicky," Haru assured him as the slimmer man glared at his much bigger companion, slowly walking around the huge chest in order to reach the front. "But why would a king I've never met send me such a big present?" she asked herself more than anyone present.

"How should I know?" the giant, Muta, grunted at her. "Kings don't usually bother to explain things to the likes of us."

Haru bit back a giggle of her own. "I bet they don't. Well, it's very lovely. I bet I could store one or two bodies in it, in a pinch." _'Like maybe the king's?' _she thought evilly.

"There's something inside it," the darker messenger prodded her, making the girl look at him curiously.

"How would you know if your king didn't bother to explain any details?" she asked him.

"We've been hauling that thing over three kingdoms, plus this castle. Just trust me, Chicky; there's something in it," Muta assured her, messing with the lily on his jacket casually.

Haru sighed in irritation, and leaned over the masterpiece to start unlatching it. "Probably more clothes or jewels. For crying out loud, don't I already have more than enough?"

"Not by half," Risa said as she and her sisters crowded around her, both of the messengers now fumbling with their lilies. "After you're married to the king, you'll need-"

What else Haru would need, she never did find out.

Because at that exact second, she lifted the trunk's lid wide open. Her eyes were barely able to follow the snapping string inside as it fell against what looked like a bulging bag that burst as the string released the top.

The explosion, although noiseless and almost completely un-seeable, filled the entire room in what appeared to be mist or a cloud, and all the doors and windows were shut to prevent any of it to escape. Even as the four girls in the room gasped in surprise, the mist sank into their lungs, and began rushing through their blood until reaching the brain.

The two messengers watched with amusement as the three ladies in waiting fell unceremoniously to the ground, the guard quickly following them, even as he struggled to open the door and call for help. None of them were truly harmed, but snores were soon heard from the guard.

The darker messenger laughed merrily, stepping over a sleeping Riya so that he could try to lift Haru's legs into the chest, where the top of her body was already lying, always keeping the lily to his face to ward off the mist's effects. "What do you know? The plan worked."

Muta grunted his agreement, nearly dancing around the comatose girls so that he could help his friend ease the would-be-queen into a comfortable fetal position inside the trunk, which was lined with soft blankets like a nest as he tossed the empty bag hanging from the trunk's lid over one shoulder, now that it had served its purpose. He also kept his lily firmly to his face as he gently set a small pillow from the large canopy bed underneath the sleeping brunette's head. "Of course it worked. I haven't met a girl _yet _that can resist opening a present with her name on it."

"Too bad we have to take her back to _him_," the leaner man said regretfully as he opened a few prepared air holes so that the girl could breathe before latching the top shut. "She seems like a fun person to talk to."

"That's not our problem, Toto," the giant reminded him, taking up his side of the trunk again, despite the fact that he could have carried it himself both ways, but they had needed an excuse to visit the girl together. "Let's just get out of here while we still can. Natoru's waiting, and if I have to listen to him yell about another useless detail, I just might strangle the closest person handy. And that's usually you."

"Like you could ever catch me," Toto taunted as they stepped over the comatose guard, and let themselves out of the room, still holding the lilies firmly to their faces until they could close the large door to Haru's room behind them. They insulted each other as they walked through the castle, right past a waiting Lune and Yuki, and to a humble one-horse wagon with a heavily cloaked man at the front, close to the servants' entrance.

As the two mismatched men loaded the trunk into the back of the wagon, Natoru smiled wickedly, waited for his underlings to climb on, and urged his horse into a steady trot that became slowly faster, as the castle fell behind them.


	9. The Abductors

**Chapter Nine: The Abductors**

Haru began to murmur and stir from sleep, one shoulder pressed a little too close to her head. She yawned, and tried to stretch. But the only limb that actually had room to move was her right one, which met with a sheet that was draped over her almost like a tent.

"What the-" she said incredulously, sitting up and pulling the sheet away, suddenly realizing how the ground underneath her was moving up and down like a gentle earthquake.

The slim brunette looked around, completely amazed. She appeared to be on a small fishing boat, which was being worked only by three sailors, two of which she recognized.

Muta the giant looked over at her, and grinned roguishly as he messed with the ropes for the sails. "Welcome back to the land of the living, Chicky. Enjoy your little nap?"

"Surprisingly, yes," she admitted, throwing her legs over the side of the strange cradle she had been resting in, pulling herself to her feet with ease. Looking at it, she realized that she had been sleeping inside the trunk she had opened what felt like ages ago. A couple of hours, she guessed, since the sun was setting over nothing but open water.

She looked over at Muta and his small darker companion with a grin as she gripped the railing for dear life, since this was the first time she had ever been out on the open ocean. "You're not really from King Unmar, are you?" she asked as her body gently fell to the side of the boat in time with the gentle waves.

"That's precisely right," the third man said pompously in a nasal voice said as he checked over a large map that he had set on the floor of the small boat. "And don't bother thinking about escaping this boat. This area's infested with man-eating eels. They shriek at night, if you don't believe me."

"Why would I want to escape?" Haru asked curiously, sitting down next to the trunk neatly, making sure that her skirt covered her legs decently. "The prince sent you, didn't he?"

The short man in brown brocade looked up from his map in surprise. "No. Actually he didn't. What made you think he did?"

The slim brunette shrugged, although her heart began to feel cold in her chest. "He promised he'd hire some mercenaries to kidnap me and take me out of the kingdom so that I wouldn't have to marry his father. If _he _didn't send you, who did?" she asked curiously.

The short man drew himself up importantly, his eyes dark and furious. "No one sends _me_. Not anymore. My name's Natoru; you've probably heard of me while you were in the castle."

She cocked her head to one side, thinking about it. "Sorry. I'm afraid that I haven't."

Muta and his dark friend began snickering, making Natoru shoot an evil glare at them before directing his attention to the brunette again.

"I'm Natori's younger brother," he explained through gritted teeth. "I was disgraced in the king's eyes a year ago when I accidentally laughed at one of his more absurd outfits."

Haru quirked an eyebrow at him in disbelief. "I've laughed at his outfits too. Did you do anything else?"

"Not a thing!" he yelled, storming around the small boat, waving his arms in the air as the other two groaned in dismay, sending the girl reproachful looks. "But for merely laughing at him, I was flogged and thrown out of the castle while my brother watched, but didn't help! The one time I needed him to be a brother instead of a fellow advisor, he wouldn't be one! The only way to hurt him is to hurt the king, so I hired these two to kidnap you so that we can take you across the channel and kill you on the other side to humiliate both my brother and the king."

Haru stared at him, her face taking on a familiar pose of indifference. "You don't beat around the bush, do you?" she asked drily.

Natoru stared at her with shock. "Aren't you going to do something?" he asked her incredulously. "I don't know; throw a fit or burst into tears?"

"Both are unnecessary, and they wouldn't do me any good, considering the circumstances," she said calmly, actually smiling a little. She patted the trunk next to her softly. "I don't care what the other gifts were going to be, I like this one the best. Between a choice of death or marrying the king, I'll gladly take death. Thank you for doing this, Natoru."

She didn't mean a word of it, except preferring death to marrying the king. She'd simply allow these three to take her far from the king, and when they landed, she would knock out the three of them and strike out on her own, like she had planned with Lune. Her only regret now was the fact that she never got to say goodbye to the prince and princess.

Natoru was gaping at her incredulously. "You're welcome?" he said in a hesitant manner.

Haru smiled softly, and turned to look at the sunset, crossing her arms on the side so she could rest her head on them. "This place has a nice view," she noted, dedicating her attentions to the site until the sun retired for the day.

"That one guy we were drinking with at the tavern knew what he was talking about," Muta muttered under his breath as he adjusted the sails again. "This girl's a strange one."

"One tries," Haru countered absently, hypnotized by the darkening waves of the sea. "So, how long will it be until we reach our destination?"

"We should strike land in the morning," the darker man told her, now dressed in a similar outfit as Muta, except he now had a rather nice-looking sword strapped to his side.

She looked at him, and grinned evilly. "You stole that uniform from earlier, didn't you?"

"I needed to look at least _somewhat _official," he protested on his behalf before gesturing to Muta. "This one could have passed off as just muscle, but at least one of us needed to look like we had business going near you."

"Good point," she agreed, turning around so that she could sit down comfortably again. "I didn't catch your name earlier?"

"I'm Toto Montoya," he said with a fluid bow, one that almost seemed too polished to be merely a hired hand.

"You killed his father, prepare to die," Muta added in a high-pitched mocking tone, making the darker man turn to him angrily as Haru giggled hopelessly.

"That isn't appropriate right now!"

"Why not? You practice it on everyone else," the giant taunted, grinning evilly as he put up his fists for a fight. "Why don't you just go find the guy that killed your old man and get it over with?!"

"Because I don't know where he is, you fatso!"

"FATSO?!" Muta howled, throwing himself at the swordsman to start pounding on him as Toto hit him back, throwing the sword to a corner where it wouldn't get damaged as the two began what was obviously a continuing brawl.

Natoru sighed tiredly, and moved his map to the far end of the ship where it and himself wouldn't get damaged. "The things I put up with for revenge," he muttered angrily.

A little curious, Haru walked around the two brawlers to pick up the fallen sword. Wordlessly, she drew it from the slim scabbard, and tested its weight.

It could only be called a work of art, with delicate gold lace wrapping around the hilt that was just a fraction too long. Haru had never seen a fencing sword before, but she could tell that the one who made this sword was very passionate about his job.

"This is an extraordinary blade," she complimented Toto, gently sliding the weapon back into its scabbard.

"Thanks," Toto wheezed as he stumbled to sit down next to her, the fight over with for now as Muta sat on the other side of her, also winded. "It was the last one my father created before he was murdered by the man who commissioned him to make it, but at a fraction of its value."

Haru's expression became flinty. "I hope you find the culprit someday," she said heatedly as she handed him his weapon.

"Oh, I will," Toto replied fervently, his smile roguish as he strapped the blade back onto his waist. But then the smile faded a little. "I hope you don't mind my asking, Haru-san, but how come you're being so calm about the fact that Natoru plans to kill you? Don't you have anything to live for?"

"Just one," Haru confessed, her mind's eyes seeing Humbert again, even after all these years. "But there's no point to resisting out here on the open water. I don't know the first thing about sailing, and there's no way I could possibly swim the rest of the way, even if I knew which direction to go in the dark. Are there really man-eating eels down in the water?" she asked nervously.

"They'll start shrieking in a few minutes, Chicky. It'll make sleep difficult, but we'll manage. So what's this reason of yours?" Muta asked curiously.

"My fiancé," the slim brunette said casually. "The real one, I mean; not the old lecher that was blackmailing me. Now that I won't be able to return to the village or even the kingdom, I'd like to try looking for him. He has to be somewhere," she sighed, huddling into a ball against the approaching chill of night. "It's been quite some time since I've seen him, and I want to make sure that he's all right."

"So you _are _going to resist eventually," Toto concluded slyly, making her nod slightly, in case their boss was paying attention.

"Let's just say that I hope your loyalty to Natoru only goes as far as your purse strings. You two seem like nice guys, and I'd hate to hurt you more than I have to." She couldn't be more honest than that, she guessed.

"You seem pretty confident that you can get away," Muta challenged, his eyes a little wary as he walked over to the trunk and pulled out some of the blankets she had been sleeping on. "We've been hearing all sorts of stories about you, but I'm pretty sure that they're exaggerations."

"Stories spread by mouth usually are," Haru replied casually as she accepted one of the blankets from the giant, and wrapped herself up in it. "I'm pretty sure that I can at least give you a run for your money, but that will have to wait until we reach land."

"What was your fiancé's name?" Toto asked out of the blue, perhaps to distract Natoru from realizing the previous subject as he walked back to them, the map clenched in one fist as he glared at his two hirelings, his mouth opening to rebuke them for taking a break.

Haru leaned back slightly, her eyes fading with loved memories. "Humbert Gikkingen."

Natoru blinked, and started laughing. "What kind of a stupid name is 'Humbert'?" he giggled.

Haru moved so fast, that Toto didn't realize that his sword was missing until after the blade was pressed against his boss's throat, and his body thrown against the side of the small boat.

Natoru gaped at the girl again, suddenly more afraid than he had ever been before as he watched flames dance in her eyes.

"For the record, it's considered an honor to be named 'Humbert' in Figlash, because he is one of the country's legendary heroes," Haru informed him in a dead calm voice. "Also, Humbert is the modern equivalent of two old words put together. 'Hun' means warrior, and 'Berht' means bright or famous. 'Humbert' means 'bright warrior', or 'famous warrior', and you wouldn't believe just how well my beloved lives up to that name. Just so you know, Natoru, you can make fun of me any way you please, but I will _not_ tolerate slander against the man I love. I strongly suggest that you apologize before I'm forced to kill you."

He began shaking underneath her hold. "Aren't you two going to help me?!" he demanded of his two hirelings, frozen still in shock.

Muta broke free first. "I don't see why we should," he said slowly. "It _was _kind of rude to make fun of the guy, Natoru."

"No kidding," Toto agreed, his fearful eyes locked on the brunette. "I think you should just apologize, Boss. It'll be kind of tough to scrub your blood off of the boat if she splashes it everywhere."

"I'll just lean him over the edge like this so I won't make a mess," Haru informed him courteously, forcing the miniscule man to bend backward as the eels began to scream in anticipation, the long blade still against his throat.

"I'm sorry!" he cried out in desperation. "I'll never make fun of Humbert again as long as I live!"

"Good boy," she encouraged him, stepping back and tossing the sword back to Toto, who caught it expertly.

"I guess that proves the rumors about this girl are true, after all," Muta said nervously as Haru reached down for her blanket, but then became frozen in that awkward position, her large dark eyes raised to the even darker sea, still echoing with the screams of eels.

She suddenly leaned against the edge of the boat, in order to get a better look. "Just out of curiosity, did any of you know that we're being followed?" she asked, pointing to the horizon behind them.

The trio scrambled to the back end of the boat, Natoru fumbling with a spyglass before taking a look through it.

Sure enough, there was a small boat maybe two miles behind them, white sails billowing slightly in the wind.

"Maybe it's a local fisherman," Natoru said nervously.

"Out for a pleasure cruise at night?" Toto asked skeptically.

"Through eel-infested waters?" Muta added sarcastically.

"Is there a way we can speed things up?" Haru asked, biting her lip nervously. "What if it's the king's men?"

"You could probably take them down if they are, Chicky," Muta assured her, even as he grabbed the ropes again to try adjusting the sails to a faster wind.

"We'll try to out-sail them," Toto said firmly, as he took his place by the rudder again.

But Haru couldn't stop looking at the boat in the distance, her heart pounding in her chest with fear.

'_I won't go back. I don't care about the cost, but I will __**never**__ return to the king. I hope whoever's on that boat is prepared for the fight of his life.'_

ooOoo

Yes, I really did look up the meaning for Humbert. Fitting, isn't it?


	10. The Man in Black

**Chapter Ten: The Man in Black**

No one slept that night. To keep herself from brooding about the stalking boat that was steadily getting closer, Haru helped herself to the meager traveling supplies just before dawn, using a single lantern to slowly warm sausages and make tea for their breakfast.

Muta made a sour face as he sniffed the mug of tea she gave him, but nonetheless drank it down without a protest.

"What? No boiled grass comments?" Toto asked as he sipped his own wooden mug full of the girl's warm brew.

"Now's not the time to worry about that," he said, pointing an accusatory finger at the boat that was now a mere half-mile away from them. "He's practically on our tail. If we don't get to the cove soon, he'll be close enough to jump on board."

"I wonder if he's using the same winds we are using," Toto mused as Natoru hesitantly took the wooden cup from the slim brunette before she poured the rest of the tea for herself.

"That doesn't matter anymore," the boss of the operation snapped, making sure that the girl drank the tea and bit into her sausage, before consuming it himself, just in case she had drugged it. "Once we get into the cove, Muta can take us up the side of the cliff, and he's the only one strong enough for that. Whoever our mysterious stalker is will have to sail around for hours before he finds the harbor, and we'll be long gone by then. Move the thing!" he ordered, trying to sound like he knew what he was talking about.

Toto grinned, and purposefully kicked over the large trunk they had transported Haru in.

"The _other _thing!" Natoru said in exasperation, making the slim brunette laugh helplessly.

"Do you want to do this?!" the kidnapper demanded of his captive.

"Just let them handle it. They know what they're doing," she said while giggling behind one hand.

Natoru shook his head at himself, and stomped down the boat, muttering to himself angrily about headstrong women as Toto hopped off onto the wooden deck in order to tie the vessel secure.

Muta didn't bother with anything on the boat except a strange series of leather straps that were riveted together with metal, throwing it over one shoulder as he swept the girl into his arms, and hopped out of the boat before Natoru could finish struggling with the gangplank.

"Hey!" the boss protested as Muta set the girl down with surprising care, and reached over enough to grab the little pipsqueak by the scruff of the neck and set him down on the deck, Toto already running ahead with Haru, holding her gently by one hand.

"Whoever that stalker is, he's not going to stop and wait for us to get off of the boat properly," the giant explained as he played with the leather straps until he could find a place to pull his head through as he kept running for the cliffs. As the leather straps fell over his body, it became apparent that some of the straps hanging empty were meant for other people. Toto and Haru were already waiting for them by the lone rope that trailed down the side of the impressive cliff.

As respectfully as he could, Toto helped Haru through two of the sling-like straps on Muta's right side before helping himself to the left side, Natoru having to be lifted into his sling at the front of the giant by the giant himself.

"Hurry, hurry!" Natoru urged as Muta grabbed the rope, and began climbing.

For the first time in years, Haru realized that she was scared of something other than fate. The sheer size of the cliff was easily five times as tall as the castle she had left behind, and the thought of all that empty space underneath her feet made her want to faint from fright.

But she said nothing, not wishing to expose her sudden weakness to the men she was traveling with. She merely clung to Muta's huge shoulder, and kept her eyes firmly shut as he moved his way up the side of the cliff at a surprising speed.

"Inconceivable," Natoru breathed, but it didn't seem to be directed at the giant he had hired.

"What is it?" Haru asked in a clipped tone, trying with all her might to keep her tone steady.

"That man in black. He's climbing after us," Toto noted clinically. "I didn't think anyone under the king's service would be brave enough to do _this_. He must really want to meet you, Haru."

"You're not helping!" Natoru yelled at the swordsman, looking down at the man as Haru risked a small peak.

She immediately regretted it. Muta had already taken them up the cliff about one-third of the way, and all that bare emptiness under her feet made her want to scream in terror. But just before she closed her eyes and turned her face away, she noticed a small black dot at the bottom of the cliff, close to where the end of the rope was lying against the rocks. Yes, it _did _look like he was climbing the rope as well.

About two thirds of the way up, Haru risked another peek. "He's gaining on us pretty fast."

"I know that!" Natoru snapped at her. "I haven't taken my eyes off him! But the king won't win this time! No sir; I'll slit your throat at the top of the cliff if I have to in order to get my revenge!"

"He's not from the king, you simpleton," she told him firmly, privately wondering if he hadn't been paying attention when she threatened his life the day before. "Can't you tell?"

"What makes you think he's not from the king?" Toto asked curiously from the other side of Muta.

"For starters, the only ones under the king's service that wear complete black are the ones in the military, and I don't see any gold braids or medals winking in the sun from our stalker. Also, not only are the ones high enough in the military to wear black despise exercise, that man looks like he's wearing a mask made out of a black scarf. If he were out for a reward for returning me to the king, he wouldn't wish to remain anonymous. Have any of you killed anyone recently? Whatever that guy wants from us, I'm betting it's personal."

"Next time we pick a leader, I think I'll vote for Haru," Muta grumbled as beads of sweat began rolled down his face and neck. "At least she knows what she's doing. Thanks, Chicky," he added as the girl pulled out a handkerchief that had conveniently been left in one of her pockets, and started mopping the sweat off of his pale skin.

"This isn't a democracy!" Natoru yelled at the top of his lungs. "I hired you two to help me _kill _her, remember?! Go faster, Muta!"

"I _am_ going faster!" the giant yelled back, nearly flying up the side of the cliff, the masked man in hot pursuit.

"You're _supposed_ to be this colossus! You are this… great… legendary thing, and yet he gains!" the pipsqueak yelled at the man easily three times as big as he was.

"Well, I'm carrying you three, and he's only carrying himself! Cut me a little slack!" the giant yelled back as he continued to climb.

"I don't accept excuses! Maybe I should just look for another giant!" Natoru threatened.

"Sure, order one from a catalog," Haru said sarcastically, carefully leaning to one side to wring out the handkerchief in a way that the sweat wouldn't drip onto their pursuer, since that was just uncalled for.

"You're not helping! Why are you all ganging up on me?!" Natoru whined nasally.

'_You know, I don't think that it was laughing at the king's outfit that got him kicked out of the castle,' _Haru thought as the two hired hands started laughing at their employer mercilessly. _'I bet the king just got tired of him and took the first excuse he could to get rid of this guy. Although the king __**did **__seem shallow enough to flog anyone that laughs at him besides me. Oh, I'd have __**loved **__to have watched him try to flog me.' _She began cackling evilly at the thought of taking the whip from the king and using it on him.

"What's up, Chicky?" Muta asked suspiciously.

"Just entertaining myself," she said with an impish smile, looking up. "Just calm down, Natoru. We're nearly at the top." _'And if you really think I'm going to let you slit my throat, you're in for a nasty surprise.'_

"Hurry anyway!" Natoru screeched, scrambling out of his place in front of Muta to place himself on top first, and run for the giant rock that the rope was tied against.

"Little weasel," Toto muttered mutinously as he calmly slipped out of his straps to also climb onto solid ground, and extend a hand to Haru as Muta struggled to pull himself over the edge.

She accepted his hand gratefully, turning around as soon as she was on top of the cliff in order to help Toto pull Muta up after her.

A split second after the giant had been pulled onto the solid ground, the rope that had been supporting them snapped loudly, and flew off the side of the cliff, doubtlessly taking the man in black with it.

"No!" Toto shouted in horror, looking over the edge and down the cliff.

Haru looked sharply behind her, only to see Natoru slipping a knife back into his vest.

"You coward!" she yelled at him, joining Muta and Toto as they looked over the edge.

The man in black was still there, miraculously clinging to the rocks. Haru breathed a sigh of relief as Natoru came running up behind them to look over the edge as well.

"He didn't fall?!" the short brunette whined. "Inconceivable!"

"You should be grateful that he didn't," Haru replied angrily, grabbing him by the front of his shirt. "Because if he had fallen, I'd have tossed you down to join him, you filthy coward!"

"Why should you care?" Muta asked, his eyes fearful as the man in black began slowly climbing, using the rocks as handholds. "Is he a friend of yours?"

"Does it matter?! That was a very low and cheap trick to pull! Give the man's death a little dignity, if he has to die!" she yelled at the top of her lungs, shaking Natoru around like a cheap rag doll, her slim hands itching to wring the little weasel's neck. "If you _ever _pull a cheap trick like that again, I'll break every bone in your body!" she screamed at him, not caring if the black-clad fellow below them could hear every word out of her mouth.

"What kind of hired thugs are you two?!" he whined at Toto and Muta, who were looking back at him coldly. "Why do you let this girl bully me whenever she pleases?!"

"Because you deserve to be bullied!" the giant snapped at his employer. "Money's one thing, but ethics are quite another. If she weren't around to keep you in perspective, I would have left by now."

"Me too," Toto muttered furiously, one hand on the hilt of his sword. "Besides, you little idiot, our black shadow down there is climbing up as we speak, and he'll more than likely want to chastise you for your dirty little trick."

"He can _have _him," Haru replied, shoving the little man away disdainfully, making him land on the loose-dirt ground a little far away from the sheer rock face of the cliff.

Natoru rubbed his backside sorely as he glared at the girl. The small man slowly got back to his feet, thinking hard. "All right, here's what we're going to do. Whoever that guy is has seen us with the girl, so he has to die. Muta, carry Haru. Toto, stay to make sure he doesn't come after us, and catch up when he's dead. If he falls, fine. If not, the sword."

The two hired hands exchanged exasperated looks before looking down the side of the cliff in unison.

"I'm _waiting_!" Natoru whined impatiently.

Toto sighed, and bowed towards Haru as Muta picked her up with ease, despite the fact that the girl could probably outrun all of them. "I'll catch up, I guess. But I think I'll fight him left-handed."

"We're kind of in a hurry, Toto," the giant grunted softly, although Haru could see a smirk on his face.

"We're running late anyway, thanks to the weasel," the swordsman replied sourly, glaring at his employer, who was tapping one foot impatiently.

"You're that good?" Haru asked with interest.

The black-haired man grinned at her, and modestly kicked some dirt. "I'm only the best."

Muta scoffed as the brunette in his arms stole one last look down the cliff before he walked away with his employer. Her eyes widened as a gasp escaped her throat.

"Something wrong, Chicky?" the giant asked curiously as he ran just behind the weasel-like man, who was surprisingly swift.

"N-no," she said nervously, shaking her head with a nervous giggle. "It was probably just a trick of the light."

"Well, maybe it wasn't," Muta countered, running around the ruins of an old castle and up the hills after Natoru. "What did you think you saw?"

"I know you're going to laugh," she said nervously, glancing over his shoulder to see Toto pacing the edge of the cliff calmly. "But for a second, I could have sworn that our stalker had an orange tail. Weird, huh?"

Muta quirked an eyebrow at her, and looked behind him towards the cliff. "That _is _pretty weird. Maybe it was a scabbard pointing a strange angle?"

"Maybe," Haru said unconvincingly, since she had seen a black scabbard strapped to the side of the man in black as well as a moving orange _thing _swaying from the man's backside. As hard as she tried to convince herself that it was just a spare rope or something else entirely, her mind refused to accept any explanation but a tail.

But… why would a random stalker have something as unusual as a tail?

Could it be… a _sky pirate_? They really existed, after all? But what would a sky pirate want with her? Was she even what he was after, or was it the incredibly annoying man that had just tried to kill him?

Muta panted heavily from exertion as they joined a fuming Natoru at the top of a hill that was positively littered with large rocks.

"Do you _see _what he's doing?" the small man demanded, pointing to the ruins they had just left.

Haru and Muta looked to the distant edge of the cliff. Toto, although miniscule now, was unraveling part of the rope that had been wrapped around the large rock in order to send it down the side of the cliff for the man in black.

"What part of 'make sure he doesn't follow us' did he _not _understand?!" Natoru cried out in exasperation.

"It could take that guy a few hours to climb up on his own," Haru pointed out patiently, watching Toto start pulling on the rope, obviously helping the man in black as much as he could up the cliff face.

"Yeah," Muta quickly agreed with her. "This will only speed things up, and isn't that what you wanted in the first place?"

"I suppose," Natoru grumbled as the dark stalker struggled onto the top of the cliff, perhaps saying something to Toto as he drew the sword from the black scabbard at his side.

Toto held his hand out, saying something that none of the onlookers could make out. The man in black nodded gratefully, and slid his sword back into the scabbard as he sought a large rock to sit on, turning enough to the ones on the hill to unconsciously flaunt a swishing orange tail at them.

"Yep, we've got a sky pirate on our hands," Haru muttered to herself thoughtfully, making Muta look down at her sharply as Natoru groaned in oblivious dismay.

"Now he's giving the guy a _break _before fighting him?! I'm going to have to cut Toto's pay in half for this," the small man fumed.


	11. The Three Battles

A/N: This is something I forgot to put in the last update. Someone under the name 'anon' sent me an untraceable review concerning my writing style the update before last. If you're reading this, I want you to know that I'm not offended by your observations, and that others have made that particular one before you. I'm fixing it, so don't worry. Criticism is valued, especially when it's constructive.

Without further ado, the next chapter!

**Chapter Eleven: The Three Battles**

"It won't take that long," Muta said confidently, still holding Haru as they watched Toto and the mysterious man talk for a while. "The guy's clearly a professional, and they learn to rest in short spurts."

"You have to, if you want to keep living," Haru agreed, clenching her fists slightly. After a few minutes of resting for both of them, Toto and the dark man got back to their feet, and drew their swords in unison.

"Is Toto really all that good?" Haru asked curiously.

"I don't know much about swords," Muta confessed as the two swordsmen began exchanging soft, testing blows, "but I've seen Toto do some pretty impressive things with that sword his old man made. He's pretty deadly with his left hand, and he's even worse when he uses his right hand."

"Then he should be _using_ his right!" Natoru whined nasally. "We don't have time for him to play around with his prey!"

The blows were no longer polite, the two swords flashing brightly in the sun as the opponents nearly danced around each other, weaving and dodging with an innate grace.

Haru watched silently, her face void of any emotion as the two fighters began moving their duel up into the castle ruins, occasionally moving behind a wall that blocked their view. At some point, Toto switched to his right hand, since the sky pirate was obviously a master of the blade as well. The advantage slowly turned back to him, as he suddenly pressed the man in black against a crumbling wall on the same side of the cliff.

'_It's a ransom he's after,' _Haru suddenly realized. The king would surely pay handsomely for her to be returned to him, since she didn't have value for anything else, except as a fighter, and this was a little too much trouble to go through for a simple recruitment.

Wait, why should she care what some sky pirate wanted anyway? If she had any brains, she would just escape from these two while she had the chance.

It was only her concern for Toto that made her decide to stay at the last second before tensing her body to jump from Muta's surprisingly gentle grasp.

"Inconceivable!" Natoru exclaimed, watching the man very obviously push Toto away with a heave, change his sword to his right hand, and begin overpowering the black-haired swordsman again, knocking Toto's brilliantly forged sword from his grasp several feet below them.

'_I wonder what type of sky pirate that man is,' _Haru suddenly thought, watching Toto swing from between two walls, his body swinging from a bar that easily could have been between the two before coming to a somewhat clumsy landing in order to grab his sword again before facing his opponent.

The man in black, whatever type of sky pirate he was, chose _not _to chase his prey down via the stairs. Instead, he threw his sword firmly at the ground close to in front of the two walls, and leapt gracefully for in between them.

He flipped over it not once, but twice, and then back-flipped away from the walls to land solidly next to his sword, picking it up with one hand as he slowly straightened, Toto staring at him as the three on the hill did the same.

"Cat," Haru noted clinically. "He's either a cat type or a monkey type."

Muta started coughing terribly, but she could tell that he was really laughing.

"What do you mean, cat or monkey?" the arrogant little man asked suspiciously, making her raise one eyebrow in amusement.

"Haven't you ever heard of sky pirates, Natoru?" she asked him patiently. "They used to raid this kingdom one or two centuries ago, and they're all supposed to be shape-shifters."

"Don't be ridiculous," he snapped at her, his eyes turning back to the duel that was slowly starting up again. "There's no such thing as shape-shifters."

"If that's so, why would a guy that hides his face bother to pin an orange rope to the seat of his pants?" Muta asked sarcastically. "That's not the best way to avoid attention, last time I checked."

"Maybe he's demented!" Natoru defended himself angrily.

"Why not? It wouldn't be any stranger than the rest of this," Haru said softly, squinting her eyes a bit in order to focus better on the masked man's face. His white muzzle was far too pronounced to be a monkey, so it was more likely that he was a cat type.

The man in black ended the duel by using a strange series of strokes that neatly distracted Toto just before his sword was knocked away again. The stranger's blade was nearly pressed to the dark swordsman's heart as he slowly got to his knees, saying something intangible to the victor.

"Uh oh," was all Haru could think to say before hopping out of Muta's arms, ready to run to the swordsman's aid.

But then the gentle giant grabbed her arm. "Just wait. Toto's not in danger."

Haru was still looking at the man in black, so she could see him very deliberately knock the black-haired man over the head with his hilt, saying something softly as Toto fell to the ground unconscious.

"How did you know-" she tried to ask as Natoru screamed again, watching the stranger start running for where they were.

"INCONCEIVABLE!! Here, give her to me," the small man ordered, grabbing Haru's other wrist harshly. "It's up to you, Muta. Throw a big rock at him or something, but don't let him follow us any farther!"

"That's not very sportsmanlike," the giant protested, giving the girl a strangely encouraging look as he released her arm. "Besides, I bet Haru will have to hurt me if I pulled a dirty trick like that."

"Dang right I will!" she replied, pointedly glaring at the man trying to drag her up the hill.

Natoru stiffened slightly. "Fine!" he snapped. "Wrestle him into submission, then!"

"Now _that_, I can do. See ya later, Chicky," Muta said, winking encouragingly at her, motioning with one hand for her to go.

A little confused by the giant's behavior, she nodded before running off with Natoru.

"This is perfect!" the little man gloated. "Surely a guy that studies fencing won't have a clue on wrestling!"

"I wouldn't start celebrating yet if I were you," Haru informed him firmly as they kept running, her long legs enabling her to move faster than her kidnapper. "If sky pirates could be neutralized that easily, they wouldn't have gained such impressive reputations."

"He's not a sky pirate! He's a crazy guy in a suit! You just listened to one too many fairy tales!" he yelled at her.

"Maybe if _you _had listened to them, your mind wouldn't be so narrow!" she yelled right back at him.

"Don't you _get _it?!" he howled, brandishing his dagger at her. "_I'm _the one in charge here, not you! Just do as you're told for once, and keep that big mouth of yours shut!"

"Can't you think of a better retort than that?" she scoffed, easily batting his weapon away with one hand as she looked over one shoulder. "Look. He's caught up to where Muta is."

Natoru stopped running in order to look behind them. There was a sheer rock face separating them from the giant, but the black scarf that the mysterious pursuer was wearing over his head was barely visible. Muta was saying something, his posture fairly casual. Haru could only assume that the pirate was answering him back.

"Hurry!" the kidnapper hissed at her, pulling on her wrist like a spoiled child.

Haru sighed tiredly, and began running again.

But going for nearly twenty-four hours with no sleep, little food, and then all this running was starting to wear on her spirit. She felt dirty, with the salt of the sea and the sandy dust of the cliff clinging to her skin. Right now, all she wanted was to have a light meal, bathe in a mountain spring, and sleep under a tree like she had been able to do at home.

But that option was not available to her anymore, and she lamented the sad fact.

After five minutes of running uphill, Natoru suddenly collapsed into a heap, his 'captive' taking a few more steps before stopping, and looking down at him in disgust, shaking her head a little.

Haru looked down, a little stunned to see a figure dressed in black running up the same mountain path they were using. "Muta must have lost the fight. Our mysterious shadow is closing in fast."

"In… con… ceivable!" Natoru gasped in desperation, his small hands fumbling with one of his pockets to produce three long white bandages. "Sit… by that… tree!" he ordered her, holding up one of the bandages menacingly.

Haru shrugged, and sat herself down gracefully, secretly thankful for the chance to rest her legs. Natoru approached her, and started wrapping the bandage tight around her wrists.

She suddenly broke down laughing, actually falling on her side.

"Now what?!" he asked crossly.

"Y-your tying job!" she giggled helplessly. "It's hilarious!"

"How is it hilarious?!" Natoru demanded as he tied the bandage into place with a final knot.

Barely taking a pause between her giggles, Haru worked her hands loose in less than five seconds. "You couldn't even hold a three-year-old _child_ with a tie like that! Didn't you even bother trying to learn how to tie up a captive?!"

"I didn't think it was needed," he grumbled, turning red with embarrassment as the slim brunette picked his knots loose with her fingernails easily.

"Of course it's needed, you idiot. Okay, _you _sit down, and I'll show you how to do it properly," she said with a silly smile on her face.

"Oh, all right," he sulked, taking her place underneath the tree and holding his arms and limbs out for her benefit. "But hurry! This guy's obviously good at swords and hand-to-hand combat, but I bet he'd lose in a battle of wits!"

Haru stared at him for a full second before taking his arms behind his back. _'Doesn't this guy realize that a __**soap dish **__could outwit him?!' _"Okay, first of all, you pull the arms _behind _the captive like this. Then you cross the wrists, and very tightly wrap the bandage in a cross pattern over the wrists like this starting from the middle of the bandage, so that it will hurt the skin just by being there." She gave the bandage a final tug before quickly tying off the ends of the bandage. "There! Can you break out of that?"

Natoru struggled for thirty seconds before admitting defeat.

"Told you so. Okay, the easiest way to bind the feet is to just to tie the ankles together, but if you _really _want to make sure that a person's not going anywhere, then you wrap the bandage around the ankles a few times like this, bend the legs backward like this-"

"OW!" Natoru wailed as she dragged his ankles until they were touching the bandage wrapped around his wrists.

"- and then tie the ankle bandage to the wrist bandage in a secure hold." She quickly tied the ends off, and then stood back a few feet to admire her handiwork, which ended up looking a little like the small man had been taken in the hunt. "Perfect. I bet you could try for a week, and still not get out of that."

He flailed around like a freshly caught fish, panting heavily. "Okay, I get the idea now! Untie me, already!"

Haru smiled, and walked forward again to lean next to him.

But instead of reaching for the bandages, she fished the dagger out of his vest, and held it against his throat.

"You _idiot_," she whispered as his eyes suddenly bulged in fear. "Did you _really _think that I was going to just let you kill me? If you had such an issue with your brother and the king, you should have snuck into the castle on your own and challenged them. Getting a samurai's daughter involved in your stupid little scheme has raised your incompetence to an art form. But I _do _thank you for taking me this far from the castle. I'd have hated to stand trial for murdering the king."

Steady footsteps approached her from behind, making the girl look away from her trembling captive.

The man in black had stopped in his tracks a good ten yards away from the tree, his white muzzled mouth slightly open in astonishment. He was definitely a cat, she could tell that now, but she was a little puzzled by the fact that the black scarf that he had tied around his head, had no slits for the eyes.

Maybe being a cat was enough to help him see through the cloth, since he was obviously not blind.

Haru looked at him with narrowed eyes, and held the dagger against Natoru's throat again. "Don't come any closer, or I'll run him through," she threatened half-seriously.

The cat-man slowly shook his head in disbelief… and began laughing fit to kill.

"This isn't what it looks like!" Natoru said helplessly as he flushed darkly with embarrassment, which only doubled the strange man's laughter.

"Did someone change the rules of abduction while my back was turned?" the tall stranger asked her after a few minutes of mirth, in an accent that she had never heard before in her life. "Last time I checked, it's the victim that's tied up, and the kidnapper that makes the threats."

Haru sighed angrily, pointing at the hog-tied man with the dagger. "He didn't have a single clue what he was doing, so I demoted him. Do you want the little weasel? He's the one that cut the rope off the cliff and nearly killed you."

He carefully looked at the tying job that the slim woman had done, a slightly wicked smile on his muzzled face, which he tried to hide with one gloved hand. "Not really. My walls are getting too crowded for another stuffed trophy. I must admit that I admire your method of chastisement, Haru-sama."

"Thank you, but flattery's not going to get you anywhere," the brunette said simply, taking the last bandage and quickly wrapping it around Natoru's mouth so that neither of them would have to endure his useless babble anymore.

Pointedly turning her back on the new hostage, Haru kept the long dagger in one hand, playing with it absently. "You went through a lot of trouble to follow us," she said flatly, cutting across any further pleasantries. "Since the others weren't what you were interested in, I'll assume that it's me you want. Is there any particular reason you followed me all the way out here?"


	12. The Offer

**Chapter Twelve: The Offer**

The tall cat-man looked at her reproachfully, or so she supposed, since it was a little hard to tell through the mask. But, he bowed to her fluidly, in a style she was unfamiliar with. "I have been asked by my master, the Sky King, to offer you an invitation to join his court."

"Oh no, not again!" Haru groaned in dismay, shaking her head angrily. "Listen, pal; I'm not interested in joining _any _royal court! There are a few too many strings attached to consider! I'm quite happy as a peasant girl, thank you very much!"

"My king is already happily married with several children, if that's what you're worrying about," the black-clad messenger said blandly. "This has absolutely nothing to do with an offer of marriage into the royal family, I assure you."

She looked at him, her face flushing hot with embarrassment. "_Oh_. Well, why _does _he want me, then?"

The cat-man in black shrugged. "Your world may have forgotten about mine, but we haven't forgotten about yours. The Sky King likes to check what's going on in this world from time to time, and he's mightily impressed with your abilities, Haru-sama, and more than a little less impressed with your king's conduct. He's noted that your world tends to cheapen women, simply because they are women, and refuse to take full advantage of their abilities, if they are out of the norm. The Sky Kingdom is a very different place, Haru-sama, and our king is a much better ruler than yours, simply for the fact that he is completely sane and honestly cares for his subjects. You would be welcome among our kind, Haru-sama."

'_Just what does this guy have with saying my name repeatedly?' _"How do I know this isn't some kind of trick?" she asked suspiciously.

"It's a trick," he said honestly. "But it's more on your king than you."

"Just why should I trust you?" she asked him flatly, crossing her arms as Natoru continued to struggle behind her. "It's all well and good to offer me this, but that mask of yours doesn't exactly inspire trust on my part."

He coughed nervously, adjusting it slightly over his head. "Please forgive me. I was specifically ordered not to take it off until I returned to the Sky Kingdom and my king gives me leave to remove it."

"Well, what's your name?" she pressed, making him twitch uncomfortably.

"I'm under orders not to tell you," he apologized, rubbing the back of his head like a scared little boy.

"So, I'm not allowed to see your face or learn your name, but you expect me to go with you to a kingdom I've never seen, and I would probably stay in for the rest of my days, plus the fact that I'd be the only human around the kingdom?" she asked him incredulously.

"Not quite," he corrected softly, a twitch of the mouth saying louder than words that he was on the edge of his nerves. "If you entered the Sky King's service, you would become one of us."

"A shape-shifter, you mean?" she asked curiously, making the man nod hesitantly. She put one hand to her chin thoughtfully, one finger brushing against her soft cheek. "I wouldn't look like the dead queen anymore, if I grew scales or feathers," she mused out loud.

"Or fur," the stranger quickly added.

"Or fur," she agreed, laughing a little as she mulled over her options. Finally, she sighed. "Thank your king for the generous offer, sir, but I'm afraid that I can't take it. You see, I have a fiancé from _this _world that I love with all my heart, and it's been six long years since I've seen or heard from him. I'm certain that your king is nice, and that your kingdom is a better place than mine, but that's not going to mean much to me without Humbert." She bowed politely from the waist, and began walking away, further up the hill.

"What if he's changed?!" the cat man suddenly called out to her desperately. "I mean," he added, quickly modifying his tone as she looked over her shoulder at him curiously, "it's not very likely that your Humbert is still the same person that he was six years ago."

"So?" Haru asked calmly. "I'm not the same person he used to know, either. But if he could see the number I just barely pulled on Natoru," she giggled helplessly, "he'd probably say that I haven't changed a bit, and then burst into hopeless laughter." She sighed sadly. "I miss making him laugh. I miss waking up every morning, knowing that I'd be spending the whole day with him. I miss hearing him play that little reed flute he carved one summer afternoon, I miss…" she choked out in a sudden sob, sharply turning away from the cat man to bury her face in her hands as the dagger finally fell to the ground next to her feet. "I… I just miss _him_. I don't care how long it takes or what I have to do, but I _am _going to find him again. Even if he's moved on with his life and forgotten about me, I _need_ to know if he's all right, and see his face at least one more time before I eventually die."

Natoru stopped struggling, shocked beyond his wildest dreams that the terrifying brunette knew how to cry, let alone could actually do it.

"How could he have moved on with his life if he had a girl like you waiting for him?!" the cat man demanded, storming up behind her and gently taking her by the shoulders to turn her around to make her face him. "What could possibly make him forget about someone like you?"

"I don't know," she said helplessly as more tears streamed from her large dark eyes. "That's… been the worst part, these past-hic!- six years. If he had died at sea and word of it reached me… even that would be better than imagining the worst for years on end while my friends in the village try to tell me to forget about him when they know I can't… and then nearly getting forced to marry a king nearly three times older than me _just _because I look like his dead queen! I was going to-hic- kill him, if he had actually managed to get me close to the altar," she babbled as the cat man fished a large cream-colored handkerchief out of an unseen pocket in his pants and offer it to her. "Thanks," she mumbled numbly, mopping her face with his offering and blowing her nose, completely forgetting the fact that she had a handkerchief of her own, even if it was stained with Muta's sweat.

"This Humbert means everything to you, doesn't he?" the cat man asked softly, his velvet-like voice strangely reverent.

"Of course he does… and he always will. I'd sell my soul to get him back in my life," she said wistfully, her heart aching for the green-eyed boy.

The cat man hesitated, like he had something else to say. "I don't know about your soul," he said slowly, "but if you're not too attached to your humanity, my king could probably find him for you."

Haru looked up at the black-clad shape shifter, her big dark eyes filled with hope. "Really? You're not just leading me on?" she whispered.

"How do you think I managed to find out where to find you so quickly?" the cat man asked with a tender smile. "The kidnapping Muta and Toto managed to do left everything in confusion at the castle, but my king still managed to find you so that I could track you down. He might ask you to do something for him before he'd track down Humbert, but he should be able to find your fiancé for you."

"Then what are we waiting for?!" Haru asked enthusiastically, grabbing one of his arms. "Take me to your leader!"

"As you wish," the cat man answered automatically, but then threw his other hand to his furry mouth in horror.

Haru's head snapped upwards in shock, and her mouth fell open. "_What did you say_?!" she demanded, more suspicious of his chagrin than of the familiar words that were quite nearly etched onto her heart.

The cat man stiffened to the point of terror, but then sighed, and looked down at her again. "As. You. Wish," he said, emphasizing each word more than a stranger would have.

Haru didn't even think. She reached up with one hand, and tore off the black scarf that had been tied around his head.

The bottom part of his face was covered with fur the same pale color as his skin used to be, but the fur covering the top part of his head and underlining each glowing green eye was a soft golden color that she remembered very well.

Humbert looked at her a little worriedly as she stared at him for several minutes wordlessly. "Please, say something, Haru."

"What part of 'watch out for sky pirates' did you not understand, Humbert?" she said almost cordially, and then suddenly burst into a tirade. "What were you thinking?!" she screamed at him, grabbing her fiancé by the shoulders and shaking him around like a rag doll. "Why didn't you just say that it was you from the beginning?! It's not like you could have hidden it from me forever, you jerk! I've been worried sick, and then you pull a trick like _this_?!"

Haru entertained herself for the next thirty minutes, yelling at her fiancé at the top of her lungs as tears streamed freely down her face, her topics ranging between never sending her a letter and wondering what he had been up to, all these years.

Humbert endured his scolding patiently, a gentle smile on his face as the love of his life slowly ran out of breath and blistering things to say to him.

Just as she was finishing up, gasping with exhaustion from yelling so long, the orange and cream feline wrapped his arms firmly around his fiancée, and kissed her forehead tenderly while holding her close for the first time in six long years.

"I've missed you too, Haru," he whispered lovingly.

The brunette in his arms broke down, weeping softly into the front of his baggy black shirt as she clung to him desperately, like she was scared that this was just another dream, and that she would wake up soon.

Humbert crooned softly, rocking her gently in his arms, both of them blissfully oblivious to a staring Natoru, who had fainted from shock and then came to again.

"It's all right, Haru," he whispered into her hair. "I came back, just like I promised, and I'm _never_ going to leave you behind again."

She looked up at him happily, her eyes still streaming tears as she rose to her tiptoes in order to press her lips against his in a fervent kiss, which was quickly and enthusiastically returned, along with an accompanying purr.

That continued for only five minutes, since Haru was now spiritually drained from anger and happiness.

Humbert continued to hold her close, his eyes half-closed in contentment as a relieved laugh escaped his lips. "I've been so terrified that you wouldn't be able to love me like this, Haru."

"Silly," she scolded breathlessly, soaking in the warmth of his arms greedily. "It will take a lot more than whiskers and a fur coat to get me to stop loving you. I'm hurt that you doubted me."

"I'd never doubt you," he quickly asserted. "I was just…"

"Scared?" she asked him, although she already knew the answer. "I know. I've been scared, too. Why didn't you just tell me who you were instead of beating around the bush like that?"

"That, my love, is a very long story," he informed her, sweeping the girl into his arms with ease as he looked to the valley below them. "And it would be better to tell you about it on the way back to the Sky Kingdom, so that the old fool can't interrupt us with his ridiculous notions."

"Old fool?" Haru asked, her heart turning cold as she looked into the valley as well, only to see a cavalry riding towards them at a fast pace, a gold crown gleaming in the sunlight in front of the column as a familiar voice began to be heard over the rolling hills.

"GET YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF MY BRIDE!!" the king bellowed at the cat man, frothing at the mouth as he brandished a sword dangerously.

Humbert took off running again, straight into a forest mountain range with the brunette's arms wrapped firmly around his neck. He skillfully dodged past giant boulders, occasionally snapping an unfamiliar word behind him to make the boulders break loose from their resting places, and come crashing through the trees to meet the army trying to follow them up the mountain.

"You've been busy," Haru said softly, rubbing her cheek against her beloved's shoulder affectionately.

"You have absolutely no idea," he said tiredly, hopping over a large cave and tapping it three times with one foot, muttering even more strange words under his breath insistently.

A large bear lumbered out of his cave, and began running down to the few soldiers that had managed to catch up to them, roaring with madness. The men immediately ran back down the mountain, screaming for their very lives.

"How are we going to escape them by going _up _the mountain?" Haru asked curiously.

Humbert smiled wickedly at her, and kept running. "Just trust me, love."

Haru giggled, and kissed his furry neck lovingly. "As you wish."

"Thank you," he said gratefully, always weaving them higher and higher up the mountain as the soldiers fell farther and farther behind.


	13. The Conspiracy

**Chapter Thirteen: The Conspiracy**

"I think I can run now, if you're getting tired from carrying me," the brunette said with concern.

"No, Haru. We want the king to think I'm kidnapping you, remember? I want the village to remain unmolested just as much as you do."

"Oh, right," she giggled softly while blushing, nervously glancing over his shoulder every once in a while to keep track of the pursuers. "If you can keep up this pace, we should lose them entirely in ten minutes," she reported, crossing her arms over her chest so that the pursuers wouldn't see her arms around Humbert.

"We don't have that long," he replied grimly as he approached the top of the mountain, and hopped onto the tallest rock with feline grace. But instead of watching the trees at the bottom of the rock pile, he watched the sky intently. "Darling, pretend you're unconscious so we won't have to explain why you haven't been able to escape from me by now."

Haru immediately allowed her head to flop over Humbert's arm, and one of her own slim arms fall off her midsection to dangle convincingly from her 'kidnapper's' hold. Keeping her eyes closed, she could hear the foot soldiers come to the base of the rocky pile, gasping noisily with exertion.

"Halt… in the… name of… the…" was all one of the soldiers was able to say before he collapsed to the sandy ground.

Haru had to fight hard to keep her face relaxed as more and more soldiers came, breathing very slowly as a familiar voice came to the area below them.

"Give her back!" the king snarled angrily as he tried desperately to climb the rocks, but he hadn't done anything so strenuous since he was his son's age. "That's **my** queen!" he roared, oblivious to the 'kidnapper's strange appearance.

"You didn't marry her, so she isn't a queen," Humbert said in a bored tone, a slight undertone of amusement clear that he was enjoying watching the king try to climb the rocks. "As for giving her back, I have no intention of doing so. I'm afraid I have plans of my own for Yoshioka-sama, and they don't include you."

"Shoot him down!" the king barked at his soldiers, making two archers tiredly pull an arrow from their quivers and set them against their long bows.

"Is that really such a good idea?" Humbert asked with an amused purr. "With how hard their hands are shaking, it's quite possible that they'll shoot the girl by accident. Even if they managed to hit me, I would drop her and she could quite possibly break her neck on the rocks."

The two archers stopped short of aiming for the cat man, and looked at their ruler fearfully.

He grunted angrily, looking up at the orange and cream feline. "I hope you know that Haru makes a donkey look docile! If she were awake, she'd tear you limb from limb!"

"But she isn't, is she?" Humbert said with an evil grin. "Besides, from what I've gathered about her, she'd probably tear you apart first."

"She wouldn't dare! Not with the village to worry about!"

Humbert shook his head angrily, and held the 'unconscious' brunette closer. "You are quite possibly the most disgusting person I've ever had the displeasure to meet, King. I think between the two of us, Yoshioka-sama will be much happier with me."

"Why should _I _care about _her _happiness?!" the old monarch demanded. "It's her duty to submit to my will, not to be happy! She should be concerned with making _me _happy!

One of Haru's limp fingers twitched slightly, as she struggled not to make a fist and destroy the illusion of slumber. How dare that old pervert say such things?! Did he really think that he'd have lived long after the wedding, _if _he had even gotten that far with her?

Humbert's voice turned colder than ice. "If I weren't concerned for Yoshioka-sama's safety right now, I'd challenge you to a duel to the death for that insult, right here and now. But that will have to wait for another time, I suppose." Sharply, he whistled a loud clear note, one that seemed to echo down the mountain and far into the surrounding heavens.

"Come down here and fight, you coward!" the king demanded frothing at the mouth as he tried yet again to climb up the rocks without much success.

"Another time, King," Humbert said firmly, a grim smile of satisfaction on his lips as a small ship burst from an overhanging cloud, and headed straight for the mountain's peak. An unseen sailor from the flying vessel began launching fireballs, which landed merely inches away from the soldiers and monarch, splashing flames all over their clothes.

Haru and Humbert were quickly forgotten as the pursuers frantically began beating the flames from their clothes, even rolling on the ground or tearing off their clothes to keep from getting burned.

The cat man chuckled softly, and whispered a single word. He hovered off of the rock pile, and began rising higher with his fiancée still wrapped up in his arms. Familiar with the sensation of empty air beneath her, Haru quaked slightly, and her mouth trembled a little in fear.

Humbert looked down at her with surprise. He held her even closer as he gracefully floated into the flying vessel, and landed firmly on the main deck. "Shh," he comforted her, setting the girl against the side of the ship and kissing her forehead gently. "It's not so bad, once you get used to it."

"You promise?" she whispered softly.

"Of course," he answered lovingly before kissing her lips again. "Toto, Muta? Take us home, please."

"Sure thing, Baron," a familiar voice grunted, making the brunette look towards the helm with shock.

Muta was steering the ship, and Toto was keeping himself busy with what looked like several slingshots, all connected by a single rope that would release the balls of tar after the dark swordsman lit them on fire with a whispered spell.

"You two were in on this?!" Haru said with shock as Muta sharply turned the helm and jerked around a kind of stick that was stuck in the floor next to him. A strange rumbling growled underneath their feet as the ship roared appreciatively, and sped far from the mountain, back into the cloud it had been hiding in.

"That's right," Toto said cheerfully, sitting next to the strange weapons thankfully. "We were originally trying to get hired by the prince to carry you straight to Baron, but Natoru was moving faster than the prince was."

"Then this was all a joke?" she asked in horror, making Humbert laugh and sit down next to her before dragging the girl into his lap and cuddling her happily.

"I already told you it was, love. But it was more on Natoru and the king then you. Besides, wasn't it more interesting to find out this way than to have Toto and Muta just deposit you into my arms blindfolded?"

"I wouldn't have minded that," she giggled tiredly, "but you're right. As usual." She nestled her head happily into his shoulder. "So, do I get to find out what happened to you yet?"

"Are you sure you don't want to rest first?" he asked worriedly, making her growl in irritation.

"Talk. _Now_," Haru ordered firmly, her grip on his neck tightening slowly like a noose.

"All right, all right," Humbert gasped, making the girl loosen her grip dramatically.

"Has she always been this way, Baron?" Toto asked curiously.

"More or less," the orange and cream cat answered the swordsman with a slightly silly grin, holding the slim brunette even closer.

Haru looked up at her fiancé sharply. "Baron?" she asked him in confusion, despite the fact that she had heard Muta call her beloved by that name earlier.

Humbert coughed uncomfortably. "Certain opportunities arose that needed to be taken, if I ever wanted to see you again, Haru. If I had rejected the title when King Valorous offered it to me after I saved his life, I probably wouldn't have been able to return to you."

Haru stared at him with amazement, and gripped the front of his baggy black shirt with both fists. "What part of 'talk now!' did you not understand?!" she demanded, making him wince slightly.

"All right, love. Here's what happened." Humbert sighed, his glorious green eyes fading with memories. "Five months after my ship put out to sea six years ago, we hit a terrible storm. I don't know if it reached your area or not, but it absolutely _destroyed _the ship. I clung to a piece of the main deck as long as I could, although the freezing water was seeping through my body. Right before I finally passed out, I saw a bright light, and thought that I was going to die.

"But, when I woke up, there was this very tall and old rabbit woman sewing up a long cut I had received over my chest." The orange and cream cat pulled a rueful face. "I'll be honest, Haru; I panicked. I thought she was going to_ eat _me," he added while blushing adorably with embarrassment.

"A **rabbit**?" the slim brunette asked skeptically as Toto and Muta roared with laughter. "Humbert, you _know _rabbits don't eat flesh."

"Yes, yes, I know," he grumbled while glaring at the two chortling sky sailors. "She laughed at me even harder than those two. A tall man with wolf features came into the room about then, and cleared up what had happened. We both knew that vessels have been going missing on the open water for centuries, but what we _weren't _told was the fact that the ships that disappear ran into a disaster of some sort, and that the sky pirates always kept a careful watch over the oceans to save what lives they could. I was the only one from that ship that they were able to save."

Haru's heart froze over, remembering all the times she had feared him to be a victim of a storm, and she kissed him impulsively. "So, what happened after that?"

"Well, Captain Ashwood, the wolf-man, informed me that I would never be able to return to my old world, because I had seen for myself that shape-shifters weren't really a myth. It involved a treaty between the kingdoms, after that war Hiromi's grandmother told us about, that any human the sky pirates saved could, and would, be claimed as one of their own." He hugged the girl tighter. "Those were _terrible _months, Haru. Suddenly joining a band of sky pirates and knowing I would be initiated as one of their own after another two years wasn't such a big deal, but… the thought of never seeing you again, wondering if you would forget about me… I wanted to die."

"I'm glad you didn't," she informed him lovingly, still holding his head tight within her arms. "But how come you and these two were able to come back to this world?"

"That part was tough," Muta grunted as he adjusted course to sail over a vast cloudbank. "You have to petition the king, and give him a very good reason why you _have _to visit the human world-"

"You're jumping ahead of the story, you fatso!" Toto suddenly yelled as he slammed one hand over the giant's head. "It's Baron's story, so let _him _tell it!"

"But he's taking too long!"

"It's not bugging Haru, is it?!"

"Do they usually launch into random fights like this?" the slim brunette asked while struggling not to laugh as the fighting duo began madly wrestling across the top of the flying vessel.

Humbert sighed, and gently pushed the love of his life off his lap, and guide her around the epic battle so that she could stand next to him in front of the helm. He gripped two polished handles of it, and gently led the ship back onto its original course. "Frequently. It's another thing you learn to ignore after a while. _Do _you have problems with how I'm telling the story?" he suddenly asked with concern.

"The only parts I hate are when you get distracted and stop telling it. Please, what did you do, those first months among the sky pirates?" she asked with genuine interest.

Humbert sighed again. "Actually, I performed the same duties I had done on the sea-sailing ship. Captain Ashwood was very experienced with welcoming homesick members to the crew, so whenever I was done with the daily chores, he'd assign one or more of his crew members to teach me something new, to keep my depression at bay." He looked at her from the corner of his slanted eye, and grinned wickedly. "They had no clue that I had already been learning swordplay and hand-to-hand combat from you and your father, so I was actually able to provide a challenge for the other sailors, once they realized that I needed to be taken seriously."

"I certainly hope it didn't take them long," she scoffed tenderly, wrapping her arms around one of her fiancé's.

"It didn't," he assured her with a grin. "But it _was _kind of fun to learn about all those different techniques, and Captain Ashwood was quite impressed with my progress. I hope you'll forgive me, love, but I spoke of you quite often, late at night while the men were swapping stories. They were all convinced that I either made you up or was exaggerating wildly about your abilities."

"But we're cured of that now," Muta said dryly, after delivering a half-hearted punch to Toto's face. "I still think it's unnatural that you really are the way Baron described you, but at least I believe him now."

"Ditto," Toto wheezed as he limped to the side of the flying vessel to favor his unseen wounds.

"You two were on that ship?" Haru asked politely.

"Yep," Muta said casually as he pilfered through a cupboard built underneath the helm. "We were two of Baron's teachers. It's still a bit embarrassing that he can take us down any time he feels like it. Water?" he asked, holding up a water skin to the two.

Haru took it from him, and uncorked it before handing it to her furry fiancé.

He took it with a grin. "Mind holding the helm steady for a minute?"

"Um, okay," she replied uncertainly as he stepped back and used one of his hands to wrap hers around two of the polished handles of the helm.

"Just keep it on course," Humbert, or Baron, she supposed, told her gently as he put the water skin to his lips.

So entranced by his story, Haru hadn't been able to appreciate the scene sailing over and around the ship. Clouds crashed against the front of the boat like waves as she skimmed the top of the misty bank, the sun beginning to set majestically, turning the sea of clouds into varying shades of lavender and soft pink.

"It's beautiful up here," she breathed reverently.

"Yes," Baron answered softly. "But I bet you can't beat my view."

A single glance to her left told her that _she _was the center of his attention, and not the scenery, making her blush with pleasure and giggle helplessly. "Flirt," she accused him while punching one of his arms playfully.

He grinned roguishly while handing back the half-empty water skin so that she could drink and he could resume control of the ship's course.

She drained the skin, and corked it before handing it back to a smirking Muta. "All right, Baron; what happened next?"


	14. The Promotion

**Chapter Fourteen: The Promotion**

It was strange, how easily that name flowed off her tongue. Haru had always known that despite all the reasons her dear Humbert should be grateful for his given name, he had always despised it. 'Baron' suited him far more than 'Humbert' ever would.

She didn't mind. The man she loved was the man she loved, no matter his appearance or used name. It was his soul she had always adored.

Baron smiled at her thankfully for the adopted change of address, and continued his narrative. "Well, things remained more or less the same for five years. The most difficult part of my new education was adjusting to my shape-shifting body and learning magic, but I even managed that in the end. Now, it's a standard procedure for new recruits to meet the king once every five years, and as it so happened, that meeting happened two months before the end of my fifth year as a sky pirate. I had just missed the last meeting, so I had the most experience in the then current group."

At this point, Baron suddenly hesitated.

"Go on," Muta said slyly as he adjusted the sails slightly. "If you don't tell her what you did, you _know _we will."

Toto started cackling evilly as he started lighting lanterns around the deck. "Oh, I can't wait to hear him explain _that_."

Haru looked at her furry fiancé suspiciously. "All right, what did you break?" she asked in a resigned tone.

Baron steadfastly looked in front of him to avoid looking the slim brunette in the eye. "The tower was an accident, I want that to be understood right now," he said quickly, rubbing the handles of the helm nervously.

"Uh huh," Haru said, rubbing his arm encouragingly. "And how did the tower turn into an accident?"

"Well, there were five of us that were new," he continued, his muscles tensing underneath his black shirt.

"Just spit it out," she said firmly, nudging him as a grimace crossed her beloved's face.

He took a deep breath, and started talking again. "Well, near the middle of the king's welcoming speech, two of his children came running into the throne room, arguing over whether or not one of them did something that I can't remember right now, and the king had to sheepishly break off his speech in order to resolve it, since his wife was under the weather and the nursemaids were a little too far behind the children to make a difference. Turns out that the king's children interrupt his business an average of twice a month, despite all attempts to keep them away." Baron hesitated again as an embarrassed blush began to creep onto his furry cheeks.

"That does it! You're too modest, Baron!" Muta yelled, slamming one fist against the side of the boat. "It's plain and simple, Chicky. Baron spotted a corrupt ex-noble-turned-assassin while everyone else was distracted with the children, though he didn't know all that at the time. He stole a shield from one of the guards in time to deflect the arrow that would have hit the king in the heart. _Then _he gave chase to the rogue while everyone else was still shocked, and the chase eventually led to a tower that the king used to store explosives. Baron started fighting the assassin, one thing led to another, and next thing anyone knows… ka-boom! It's a miracle that both Baron and the assassin survived the blast, but now Baron can't turn back into a human anymore because the blast disrupted his body chemistry."

Haru slapped one hand to her forehead, and sighed tiredly. "Oh, Humbert," she groaned while shaking her head.

The tall feline glared at his old friend, and gently pulled his beloved in front of him, gripping her hands against the handles of the helm so that they were steering the ship together. "Thanks, Muta," he said sarcastically through gritted teeth.

"Anytime," the giant returned impudently with a grin, narrowing his eyes slightly as creamy fur began to cover his body, possibly to combat the night chill in the air. The only spot of color that remained on him was the bit of brown over his pointy left ear. He was now a giant cat, nearly twice as tall as Haru.

Toto also began changing, although he started growing feathers as black as his messy hair instead of fur. In a matter of seconds, he was a giant crow, although his human clothes still fit all right.

But even his approaching beak was curved into a slightly naughty smile. "You don't seem all that surprised, Haru."

"I grew up with Baron, remember? I knew he could cause chaos if he really wanted to," Haru replied dryly. She was the only one left without fur or feathers, which was probably why her beloved had drawn her in for a closer embrace. She leaned into his chest slightly, loving the feel of his hands on hers. "I'm guessing that's about when the king offered you a title, Baron?"

The tall feline nodded. "He wanted to give me a bigger one, but I managed to talk him down to a Baronetcy. I would have forsaken the title completely, if he had only allowed me to come back for you, but there were certain regulations to follow, no matter what kind of debt the king might owe someone. You see, Haru, only nobility are allowed to return to our native kingdom, and even then, they have to have not only a very good reason, but also serve the king for a year, which is why it took me until now to come back for you. On top of that, they aren't supposed to leave behind any proof that they had been around the world below."

"So how come these two could come back with you?" she asked curiously, looking at a feline Muta and a feathery Toto.

"I'm a Viscount, and Bird Brain here is a Marquis. His old man just made swords as a hobby before some masked stranger decided to kill him over that last one," Muta explained while pulling a face. "All nobility spend a few five-year cycles out in a sky ship, which was why we were the ones to fish Baron out of the sea, all those years ago."

"But one day," Toto cawed, fingering the hilt of his sword with a wing-like hand. "I'm going to find my father's murderer, and say-"

"Hello, my name is Toto Montoya. You killed my father, prepare to die," Muta and Baron said in unison, although Muta's tone was more sarcastic than Baron's respectful one.

"That's _my _line!" the crow man yelled, pouncing on the big fat feline for yet another wrestling match.

Baron shook his head tiredly, and kissed Haru's hair tenderly. "The day I was finally able to approach King Valorous with my request was the same one that the king came for you in the village, love. He is most gifted with magic, and he didn't quite believe me when I described you, so he used a spy charm formed from my memories of you to nail your position down. The entire court was watching you when you told Machida to leave you alone because you still loved me, and they were watching when you took down all those guards when the king sent them after you. But you know what impressed the king the most?"

"Are you going to embarrass me again?" she asked with a blush.

He grinned, and kissed her flaming cheek. "He could tell that you weren't really going to marry the king when he blackmailed you, but what got him was when you mouthed to the sky, 'Humbert, where are you?'"

She wiggled her hands out from underneath his in order to turn around and wrap her beloved in a rib-crushing embrace. "I was scared, Baron. I thought the only way out of that mess was to kill the king and get executed before you could come back."

"Aren't you glad you were proven wrong, love?" he whispered tenderly, stealing yet another kiss from her. "Well, after watching that, King Valorous had no choice but to let me come back for you, but he wanted to see if I could get you to come to the Sky Kingdom if you didn't know who I was, which was why I was wearing that mask."

"I see," Haru said softly, cuddling deep into his warm arms. "Well, technically, you _did _get me to agree before your tongue slipped. You shouldn't be in trouble." Suddenly, she stiffened with horror. "Baron, you don't think he's been watching all this, do you?" she whispered, looking around nervously.

He kissed her tenderly, and adjusted their course slightly. "I was more or less expecting him to."

She flushed deeply with embarrassment. "He must have been laughing his head off the whole time," she muttered under her breath, turning around to slip her hands underneath his.

"Well, maybe not the _whole _time," he replied soothingly, trying to soften the blow. "It was probably closer to three-quarters of the time, if you were up to your usual antics after getting kidnapped, which I'm certain you were."

"Thanks," she said sarcastically as she leaned into his warmth. "I feel _so _much better."

Baron chuckled warmly, making his chest reverberate pleasantly against her back. He kissed her soft hair again. "Darling, it's been a long day. There's a small room down the stairs at the end of the hall underneath the deck, if you wish to rest."

"What about you? Aren't you tired?" she asked with concern.

"I'll be all right, Haru. Sailors are used to taking shifts at the helm. Go on, dear. I know you haven't slept in over a day."

The slim brunette smiled lovingly at him, and kissed him goodnight before walking around the short flight of stairs past Muta, who opened the door for the lower part of the ship for her with a grin.

She grinned back at him, and held onto the walls as the ship heaved underneath her feet while climbing down the stairs.

The hallway wasn't all that long, and the small bed in the last room was soft and inviting.

Haru slipped off her boots, crawled between the soft sheets, and immediately surrendered to peaceful slumber, content in knowing she would never lose her Humbert again.

ooOoo

The old king glared at Natoru, who was still bent backward from Haru's restraints, and bent forward enough to savagely rip the gag off of the fool's face. "I should have killed you when I had the chance," the king snarled angrily, kicking Natoru in his protruding stomach savagely. "Thanks to you, a _**cat**_has run off with _my _bride, and there's no way I'll be able to get her back! Idiot! Incompetent! Fool!"

With every insult, the king kicked his ex-servant again, and again as he cried out with pain.

"It's Humbert!" Natoru screamed, praying that the beating would stop. "Humbert Gikkingen took her away!"

"Why should his name matter?!" the king demanded with a sneer.

"It's her old fiancé," the beaten and bound man wept as blood began flowing from his abnormally big mouth. "Haru went with him willingly… because… she promised to marry him years ago. She even _kissed _him," he gagged as more blood spewed from his mouth and nostrils. "He's a cat now… and she still wants… him."

"_That _was her old sweetheart?!" the king howled in fury as Natoru panted and wept with pain.

Then… she _had _to have been faking unconsciousness in the monster's arms. She willingly left him, so that he could return to the capital in humiliation. He would become the laughingstock of the civilized world, after word of this got out.

The king took out his sword, and began hacking savagely at the tree Natoru had been leaning against. The weapon he chose was not suited to chopping wood, but the crazy monarch kept chopping, until the tree finally shuddered, and fell down the hill as several startled birds took to the sky.

Panting heavily, the king looked down at he who had once been one of his advisors with furious mismatched eyes of fire and ice as he raised his now-blunted sword one final time.

"STOP!" Natori cried out as his nerve broke, hopping off his horse in order to run up and cover his brother's body with his own. "Please, sire… don't kill him," the head advisor sobbed.

"Stand back!" the king roared, still holding his weapon high over his head.

Natori's face stiffened, as he raised it to meet his ruler's. "I _have _been, your majesty," he struggled to say with an even voice. "I've kept silent, through all of my years of serving you. I stood behind you as you took what you wanted by force, be it gold, property, or even a girl that was just waiting for her sweetheart to come back for her. I watched you maim my little brother twice, but I'm done!" the grey-haired man suddenly roared like a lion. "I'm done watching you hurt innocent people over your stupid whims! Leave my brother alone!"

The king stared at his favorite advisor, and slowly lowered his sword. "That's the first time in thirty years of service that you've disagreed with me, Natori," he said in an almost pleasant voice.

The grey-haired advisor nodded as tears streamed down his face, and splashed onto his brother's. Natoru stared at his big brother, the one he had loved and followed ever since he was born. Natori had been only ten years older, but he had always seemed so much wiser than that, as he trained passionately to enter the king's service, Natoru following his brother's footsteps eagerly.

But in that moment, just before the king swung his sword anyway, Natori was able to look down into his little brother's eyes, and _see _the love and forgiveness he had been secretly dying for.

The king, however, was unmoved by this display of brotherly love, since he had secretly murdered his older brother in order to gain the throne. With all the emotion of playing a round of golf, he first beheaded Natori, and then Natoru.

He leaned down casually, and wiped his sword clean on the back of Natori's purple robe before sliding the blade into its sheathe.

"General Nashi!" the king barked, making his oldest officer salute fearfully. "Let's head back to the capital. There's a _quaint_ little fishing village that needs to be wiped off of the map of my kingdom, and I'm going to need more soldiers to do that. Start marching the troops, or I'll send you into death after my incompetent advisors!"


	15. The Voyage's End

**Chapter Fifteen: The Voyage's End**

For the first time in years, Haru slept peacefully the entire night, and awoke with a smile on her face. She yawned happily, and stretched her arms and legs leisurely.

A glance around the small room told her that someone had been in it as she slept. But she wasn't offended in the least, eyeing a foamy bucket of soapy water that had been set next to the wall, along with a small collection of towels for a rag bath.

She scrubbed her body with the warm soapy water, wondering if it was magic that allowed it to keep its comfortable temperature or if her benefactor had been in the room recently.

Feeling a little nervous about letting anyone see her in the nude, Haru backed up against the door with the bucket and rags, so that the door wouldn't be able to open and expose her to the other passengers until she was ready.

After toweling her hair dry, she ran a small wooden comb she had found through the long brown strands until there wasn't a knot left, and helped herself to the lovely periwinkle dress that had been draped over a chair in the corner of the room, along with delicate slippers that seemed to melt against her feet like they were made for no one but her.

Her large golden brown eyes strayed to the green ribbon that had held her hair fast for two days, but she decided against tying it back into her hair.

She combed her hair one more time, performed a few body stretches, and shyly stepped out of her little room, down the hall, and up the stairs again.

Toto was the only one on deck, although he was nearly asleep at the helm as Haru emerged from the opening.

"Good morning!" she said cheerfully, making the crow man nearly jump out of his feathery hide, and stand erect like he didn't even know what 'rest' meant.

"Good morning," he said, smiling slyly around his beak as she made to walk up the stairs to him. "There's some bread and fruit in the cupboard down there. I'm pretty sure you haven't eaten since yesterday morning."

Haru stopped in her tracks as her stomach gave an ear-splitting growl. She laughed nervously, and made a U-turn for the cupboard. "Do you want anything, Toto?" she asked him as she opened the small wooden door.

"There are a few mulberries in there with my name on them," he informed her hopefully, making the girl laugh and retrieve the berries, as well as a small loaf of bread and a yellow-green apple. She walked up the second flight of stairs, and offered the crow man the handful of berries.

"Thanks," he said gratefully, popping them into his mouth one at a time as Haru took a big bite out of the apple.

The slim brunette nodded politely, since she was still chewing, and looked forward to a larger cloudbank, rising just a bit higher than the others. She swallowed her mouthful of apple, and turned to her companion. "Is that the Sky Kingdom?" she asked before taking another bite.

"It's the main piece," Toto corrected her, adjusting course slightly. "Our kingdom is actually made up of several islands that fly above the clouds. That's the biggest one, so that's where King Valorous lives. He told Baron very specifically that he wanted to meet you in person."

Haru shrugged as she finished her apple, and broke off the end of the small brown loaf to start eating it. "After the last king I met, this one shouldn't be much trouble. Is he nice?"

"He's the best," Toto answered with a grin as he reached over, and began pounding on a specific wood piece to the right of the helm. "You can even get away with insulting him to his face, as long as you voice it as constructive criticism. But not too many people have the urge to insult him, and the few that do don't dare, because they're scared that Baron will go crazy and do something awful again."

Haru giggled wickedly, and kept eating her breakfast. "Sounds like a good plan of action. Why are you pounding on that wood?"

"It's a wake-up call for the ship," he explained, pounding on it two more times. "Baron wanted to see the look on your face, the first time you see the kingdom, so he left orders to wake him and Muta before we arrived."

"He can be such a child," she giggled, offering her feathered friend the last of the bread loaf, which he took with a smile.

"Not around Muta and me, he can't," the crow man said softly, popping the bread into his mouth and swallowing it whole. "Before you came back into his life, Muta and I would have to do something outrageous to make him so much as crack a smile when he wasn't going on and on about you. And you… you can make him smile and laugh like it's nothing."

Haru shrugged as she leaned against the side of the ship. "I have the experience, and I like making him laugh. It's always been that way between us; I crack the jokes, and he laughs until it hurts." She sighed sadly. "But after he left, my jokes didn't seem so funny anymore. It's so _good _to have him back for good this time."

Toto grinned at her, and pounded on the wood piece again. "You know, Baron was bad enough with just me and Muta standing behind him. Once you're by his side, I think people would sooner attack a tornado than you two."

"That's the idea," she countered with a wicked grin.

"All right, we're up already, you Bird Brain," Muta hissed as he climbed out of below decks, and began rummaging through the food pantry. "There's no need to keep pounding that stupid thing!"

Toto gasped thunderously. "Behold!" he boomed, gesturing at Muta with a wing. "It rises from the grave!"

"I was never in the grave, you giant chicken!"

"Can't you tell the difference between a chicken and a crow?!"

"Of course I can; I'm not the bird brain here!"

"You already called me a bird brain, you idiot!"

"Idiot?!"

Haru stepped aside long enough for Toto to pounce on Muta again so that she could take another turn at the helm. _'I think I can understand why this wouldn't be funny after the first few days. Poor Humbert.'_

Almost like the thought alone had summoned him, the door from below decks opened to reveal her beloved as he set a light grey silk hat between his ears. Baron looked at the feuding cat and bird, sighing tiredly.

"Good morning, Humbert," she said softly, making him turn around in order to face her.

He smiled warmly, his eyes glowing appreciatively as he looked at her. "Good morning, Haru. Sleep well?"

"Very well," she answered, taking in his new outfit. It was the finest she had ever seen him in, although she was certain that it was more modest than what the other nobility wore. It was a simple light grey suit that matched the top hat, with a crimson vest and navy bow tie for contrast. He even had a cane in one hand.

"That's a good look for you," she complimented him, making her beloved purr softly.

"Thank you, love. Have you had anything to eat?" he asked as he looked through the food pantry.

"Yes. I'm fine now. Um, I hope you realize that I don't know how to land this ship, or put it to a dock… what's the proper term?" she asked while blushing with embarrassment.

"Make berth," he answered her, chewing politely on a small loaf of bread as he walked up the stairs to the helm. "Don't worry, Haru; it's always a little tricky the first few times. If needed, I'll do it myself and practice with you later."

"Thanks," she said gratefully, turning the helm slightly to dodge the cloud.

"No, Haru," Baron corrected her, putting his hands over hers again. "The cloud's an illusion to fool the land dwellers below. _This_ is the correct way to approach the capital, love."

Angling his wrists strangely, the tall feline urged the ship into a wide circle around the cloud before piercing it. The brunette leaning against him stiffened as the thick grey mist ran over the ship like an avalanche, but Baron kept the ship going in a firm course as his two friends kept wrestling across the deck, too lost in ridiculous insults to notice or care about the cloud that enveloped the Sky Kingdom's capital.

Once the sunlight returned, Haru opened her eyes… and gasped.

It really was a giant floating island! She couldn't even _see _the other side of it, because the ship was nearly level with the side of the island. As far as she could see, the edges of the island were bordered with ships, or standing empty for other ones to arrive. The piece of the island she could see looked like a regular waterfront, with spiraling towers that gleamed from within the noisy city. Of course, air front would probably be more appropriate, considering the circumstances.

With his hands still over Haru's, Baron gently guided the ship into one of the empty spaces, Toto and Muta hopping off in order to securely tie the flying boat onto the wharf.

"Well, dear?" the orange and cream feline asked the slim brunette as he took her by the hand and lead her down the stairs and towards the plank his two best friends had set up for them. "What do you think of it?"

"I… I…" Haru stuttered as Baron led her down the sturdy wood. "I'm… speechless," she said after another minute of stammering.

Baron laughed at her, and drew her arm closer as he tipped his hat at an approaching squirrel man holding a clip board. "So was I, the first time I saw it. Good morning, Mr. Evans."

"Good morning, my lord," the tall red squirrel said as he fussed with his clipboard. "His majesty has already taken care of the docking fee and has an escort ready to take you and your companions to the castle. Good morning, my lady," he said respectfully with a cheeky grin to Haru, bowing respectfully.

"Good morning," she said, instinctively bowing back.

But then Baron held her arm fast, so that she couldn't bow very much. "Thank you for your help, Mr. Evans. Toto, Muta, we need to get going!" he called over one shoulder.

"Coming," Toto called back, smacking Muta with one wing to get him to drop the last rope, and start running for the open carriage that Baron was leading Haru to, as she nodded at Mr. Evans one more time. But the strange thing about this carriage was that it had nothing to pull it.

"Why did you stop me?" she asked him as he helped her into the carriage, with Muta and Toto on the other seat.

"It wasn't to be rude, I assure you," he soothed her, nodding politely at the waiting driver, who nodded back and started playing with a strange series of buttons and knobs before turning a wheel in front of him that looked suspiciously like the ship's helm. The carriage began roaring softly, and rolled away from the docks smoothly. Haru inhaled softly in alarm, gripping her beloved's shoulder as he smiled teasingly at her.

"In the Sky Kingdom, men bow, but women curtsy," Baron explained, keeping one arm firmly wrapped around Haru's shoulders. "I love you plenty, dear, but I think it would be best for you to practice privately before trying a curtsy in public."

"What's a curtsy?" the slim brunette asked curiously.

Muta and Toto grinned evilly, and pointed to the side of the moving carriage. Haru looked over casually to see many common people staring right back at her, some that looked like humans, and others that were in varying animal forms. As her gold-tinged gaze passed over them, the men bowed as Baron had done before revealing himself, but the women grabbed their skirts delicately and kneeled from the waist, their heads dipping forward slightly as they spread the full length of their skirts out a little.

Haru nodded her head politely at them, and leaned back into Baron's warm embrace. "Oh. I think it looks a little silly, but I'll learn it."

"Oh, and all the bowing down there _doesn't _look a little silly?" Muta snorted indelicately.

"Not as silly as imagining _you _doing either activity," Haru retorted before she realized that she was saying it instead of thinking it. She slapped one hand over her mouth in horror, since she didn't insult friends unless they deserved it, but it was just a tad too late.

Toto burst into helpless laughter, slamming one fist into the side of the moving carriage as Muta flushed darkly. Even the driver coughed a couple of times, like he was biting back a few waves of mirth himself.

"Be quiet, you bird brain!" Muta snapped at the crow.

"But… but… she's right!" Toto panted between his bursts of mirth.

Baron smiled mischievously as a few chuckles escaped his throat, and leaned his head closer to Haru's as the insults began to fly once more. "Not bad, but refrain from the insults while we're inside the castle, please."

"I'll try," she promised, leaning into his warmth again. Suddenly, she remembered the reason for the unintended insult. "Um… won't I need to curtsy for the king?"

"Not this time," he assured her, kissing her cheek tenderly. "I got King Valorous to promise on a private audience for your first meeting, and he understands that you don't know our customs yet. Everything will be just fine, love."

Haru smiled with relief, and cuddled into Baron's side happily. "You always did have a good eye for details."

Aside from the constant bickering from the giant feline and crow on the other side of the carriage, the rest of the ride was uneventful.

Haru couldn't stop looking around the capital as the buildings and populace passed by. There was so little that resembled the world she knew. The style of the buildings soared, the streets were strangely clean of debris, and the entire capital practically _reeked _of contentment and good cheer, so unlike the atmosphere she had been forced to grow used to down below.

'_I think I could get used to living in a place like this.' _ "Um, Baron?"

"Yes, dear?" he murmured softly, opening one of his eyes to look at her as he loosened his hold slightly.

"Ah, mm," she tried to say, but then shook her head before nestling it comfortably into his shoulder. "Never mind. It's not important."

"It might be," he disagreed, squeezing slightly. "Go on."

"Well… why would a place like this want to raid the world below, a few centuries ago?" she asked tentatively.

"Oh, that," he chuckled. "The Sky King at the time was young and rather restless. He made a practice of running down there every few months to explore. He met and fell in love with the current princess, and approached her father for her hand. The older king flat out refused, since he had promised her hand to a rich lord already, although the princess loved the young Sky King dearly. All the raids and such were just to pressure the king below into cancelling the other engagement so that he and the princess could get married. It certainly explains why the kingdom below took such effort to forget about the Sky Kingdom, doesn't it?"

"Only a little," she giggled, rubbing her cheek against the slightly stiff cotton of his jacket sleeve.

"We've arrived, my lord," the driver said politely, pulling the strange carriage around the front of a tall beautiful castle that gleamed in the sun.

Toto and Muta had dissolved into another fistfight, and rolled out of the carriage as they pounded on each other angrily.

Baron sighed as he stepped out neatly and held a hand out to Haru to help her out. "Are you two going to finish soon, or should Haru and I go ahead on our own?"

"Go on! I need to show Bird Brain a thing or two, once and for all!"

"Like a lard ball could teach _me _anything!"

"_**Lard ball**_?!" Muta howled angrily.

Haru shook her head and groaned as Baron linked arms with her, and began leading her up the stone steps. "How long have they been fighting like this?"

"Since they were children," her beloved replied in a bored tone, tipping his hat to the liveried servants that opened the huge doors for them. "Let's leave them to their amusements, dear. The king is waiting for us."


	16. The Sky King

**Chapter Sixteen: The Sky King**

People were staring at her again. It was bad enough when humans did it in pity, but to have a wide assortment of half-animals do it, and then randomly burst into laughter? It made her want to crawl under a curtain somewhere and never come back out.

Instead, she just gripped Baron's arm a little tighter as he led her up two flights of stairs, and down a marble hallway. "Just how many people do you think were watching you chase me down there?" she asked in a low voice as her cheeks burned a little with embarrassment.

"Well, the entire court was watching when the king below first pressed his suit to you, and I'm betting that more than a few would have begged to watch the proceedings," Baron said apologetically while squeezing her with one arm. "If it's any consolation, a great number of them dearly wish to make your acquaintance."

"Why don't we just get through with the king first?" she asked in a slightly sick voice.

Baron smiled sympathetically, and kissed her on the cheek tenderly before turning to a liveried servant standing outside a long dark blue curtain.

Suddenly, Haru realized that wood had to be more precious up here than down below, since there were only so many trees available to harvest for doors inside _any _house, even the royal abode.

"Please inform the king that we're ready to see him," her feline fiancé asked the servant, who nodded his head respectfully and put his head through the side of the long navy curtain.

"The Baron von Gikkingen has arrived with his betrothed, my liege."

"It's about time! Send them in at once!" a deep voice commanded excitedly from the other side of the thick cloth.

Humbert smiled at Haru, kissed her cheek again, and held her arm comfortingly as he guided her through the curtain that the servant had pulled back for them.

The room was not as big as the slim brunette was expecting, although it was obviously a sitting room of a royal apartment. But her attention was quickly diverted from the room itself to a tall man that was standing in front of a cream-colored couch. Although he wore no crown on his golden lion mane, the way he held himself was enough to convince her that she was in the presence of the Sky King, Valorous.

He smiled gently at Baron and Haru, and actually bowed politely to them. "So, this is the famous Haru Yoshioka you've been bragging about for years?" the tall king slyly asked the tawny feline.

"Bragging?" the brunette asked her fiancé suspiciously, making him grin roguishly and kiss her again.

"Yes, Your majesty. This is my Haru."

Nervously, the slim girl bowed from the waist just before remembering that women didn't do that in the Sky Kingdom. "Nice to meet you, Your majesty," she said politely.

The lion king smiled even more warmly as he looked at her. "Tell me, Miss Haru; _did _you really intend to kill your king if he tried to marry you?"

"Yes, but I wouldn't have enjoyed it. I don't really see the point of killing people if there's another option available."

"Have you ever killed anyone before?" the king asked curiously.

"No, but I've maimed my fair share of idiots," she answered honestly, making the Sky King chuckle humorously.

"Tell me truly, Miss Haru; what would you do if I tried to stand between you and the Baron?"

She had to think carefully on that one. "I'd try to talk some sense into you, and if that didn't work, I'd probably have to pull an elaborate escape with my furry fiancé strapped onto my back, if needed. You aren't terribly attached to your soldiers, are you?" she asked in mock-innocence.

Baron flinched as the king collapsed onto the couch with helpless laughter. "You aren't _really _planning to stand between us, are you?" he asked worriedly.

"What? Of course not," the king chuckled as he regained control of himself. "I just wanted to know how she would answer that." He shook his head fondly at the girl. "Don't worry about that, Miss Haru. With your permission, I'd actually like to give you away at your wedding. But that is a discussion that will have to wait until later," he said seriously, turning to Baron sternly. "I thought I made it clear that you were not to reveal yourself until you had returned to my presence."

"That was my fault," Haru quickly asserted, stepping in front of Baron slightly. "I stole his mask after his tongue slipped."

"Oh no, I wasn't talking about with _you_. I was watching everything, remember? What I was talking about was your little… _meeting_ with the king below," the king explained patiently.

"I sort of ran out of options, your majesty," Baron apologized, pulling Haru to his side again. "I feel the same way my beloved does about killing, you know that."

"I fear, however, that death is on the horizon, despite all of our good intentions," Valorous said glumly as he absently flexed one fist. "The old fool below that wears the crown knows that Haru left of her own free will. He was quite thorough with interrogating Natoru, and is sailing home to rally his troops against your old village, even as we speak."

The slim brunette slapped one hand to her mouth in horror. "Oh no. How could we have forgotten about him?!"

Baron growled as he rubbed one hand over his face in irritation. "I should have taken that duel with the old fool when I had the chance."

"Very true," the golden-haired monarch said glumly to his tawny nobleman, swirling one gloved hand around in a circle to make small yellow wisps appear like tendrils of smoke.

King Valorous sighed. "I'm afraid we have no choice, Baron. The king and his small crew absolutely _cannot _be allowed to return to the other lowlanders and spread stories again. Our most ancient laws demand it."

"But what about the raids a few centuries back?" Haru asked before she could stop herself, making the king laugh grimly.

"My ancestor paid the price for his bride, I assure you. But I do not wish for any of my children to be sent down there as a consolation prize. Tell me, Miss Haru; do you think that the prince of your land is ready to be king?"

Haru nodded firmly. "Lune looks like his father, but he got his good sense from the other side of the family. He was due to take the throne soon anyway, and he's a good man."

Humbert quirked his head at her sharply, but she hugged him again to assure her fiancé that the dark prince was only a friend in her eyes. "Stop that," she chided him sweetly. "I look too much like his mother for him to feel that way, and he already has a bride."

"Very well then," the king said, standing up and giving the sweethearts a very firm look. "Baron, there's no way around it. This is your mess, so please clean it up without embarrassing me _too _much. No one in the king's party is to reach the shore. I can keep them lost in the water long enough for you to take action, if you need more time."

The orange and cream feline smiled wickedly, and bowed deeply in that strange fluid motion. "As you command, your majesty." Suddenly, he hesitated. "Ah, would you mind if I took an extra minute first?"

"For what?" The baffled king asked.

Baron looked at the love of his life, and smiled warmly. "I have a little unfinished business with Haru."

"Humbert, I can wait until after we take down that old pervert. Heck, maybe we can hogtie him so he can be the guest of honor at our wedding," she giggled evilly.

"Not a bad idea," he agreed, holding her hands with his own. "But I was talking about something else, dear."

The slim brunette quirked an eyebrow at him in confusion, but nodded for him to continue.

Baron took a deep breath for courage. "Haru, will you marry me?"

She burst out laughing with relief. "Humbert, you asked me that already, remember?"

"No," he disagreed. "I just said that I _wanted_ to marry you. That's a pretty big difference."

"Baron, if I had a problem with that, don't you think I'd have said something by now?!" she asked him, her voice going up a few octaves.

"It doesn't feel right unless I ask!" he replied, his glowing green eyes becoming slightly irritated.

"What does it matter?! You already know what my answer's going to be!" she told him at the top of her lungs, making the king cover his ears with a slight wince, although one could see his muzzle curling into an amused smile.

"Proprieties are proprieties!" Baron said hotly.

Haru threw her hands up in the air. "Fine! Ask the question, if it means that much to you!"

"I just did!"

"Didn't we just go over this part? Do it again. This _is _your idea, after all," she said with a wicked smile.

Baron gave an exasperated sigh, and got down on one knee as he took her by the hand. "Haru… you wouldn't believe some of the wild things I've had to do to see you after I became a Sky Pirate. When we were younger, I used to dread the idea of what a life without you would be like. Well, I've found out what it was like since then, and I don't care for it at all. I've never hidden the fact from anyone that I would gladly live in a little mountain cottage and grow old with you than in a beautiful manor house without you, but I don't have to make that choice. I know you're more used to the simpler things in life, like I still am, but becoming a shape-shifting noble isn't all that bad, once you adjust to it. Haru… will you marry me?"

The slim woman looked at her childhood sweetheart, and lovingly memorized all of his feline features.

She had made her decision a long time ago, but… it was just too good for her to pass up.

"I'll think about it," the slim brunette said casually, removing her hand from his in order to study a random piece of artwork hanging on the wall a few yards away from her beloved. It was a royal portrait of a beautiful half-lioness, quite possibly the current queen, since King Valorous was right next to her, one arm draped possessively, yet lovingly, over her small shoulders.

"_Haru_!" Baron protested as the king nearly fell to the ground, laughing like he had never done so before in his life.

Slowly, she looked over at him, and winked. "Got you."

Baron rose to his feet, stormed up behind her, and firmly turned her around to face him. "How about a _real _answer this time?" he asked angrily as he struggled not to laugh at the number she had just pulled on him.

She smiled impudently, and wrapped her arms around his neck in order to kiss him hard enough to make his knees grow weak. "If you're going to be _that _way about it," she whispered into his mouth, "I guess I could do worse than you."

"Haru," he groaned hopelessly against her irresistibly soft lips, holding onto her even tighter as she giggled into his throat.

"Yes, Humbert. I'll marry you."


	17. The Foolish King

A/N: Yoru-101, I'd love to respond to your PM, but I can't. Were you aware that you have your PM option disabled?

**Chapter Seventeen: The Foolish King**

Once the king set foot onto the ship he had taken to rescue his bride, he stomped angrily for his personal quarters on board, barking at the trembling old captain that no one was allowed to disturb him until his supper was ready.

The gray-haired monarch slammed the door to his small cabin, and sighed angrily as the ship rocked to and fro with the waves beneath him.

It just wasn't fair. It just wasn't fair.

Like a spoiled child, he tore off his scabbard and threw it into one corner of the room before collapsing on the bed in exhaustion and sorrow.

Clearly, he remembered the words of his grandfather when he was a small boy. He thought about how old and frail the man looked… until he married some young noblewoman that the current monarch could never remember the name of. After that, his grandfather had always stood proudly, one arm almost perpetually around his beautiful wife's slim waist, a gentle blush always on her pale cheeks.

"_I tell you, boy; __**nothing **__can make an old man feel young again like waking up every morning with the woman you love."_

The grey-haired monarch actually bit back a sob, as he thought of Haru's perfect features.

It just wasn't fair at all. He was the king, wasn't he? Wasn't he _entitled _to have a beautiful woman at his side, one that could reverse time and bring back his youth, as that other girl had done with his grandfather?

"Sky pirate," the old king snarled under his breath, pounding the bed he was lying across, pretending that he was in fact pounding the orange and cream cat that had stolen his happily ever after away. He knew there was no possible way that he would be able to get Haru back, but at least he would have the satisfaction of erasing her village from his kingdom's map.

"Natori-" he called out, stopping himself suddenly. That's right. Natori was dead now. Oh well; there were _always _aspiring fools that would do anything for the chance to personally assist the king. He should have a new advisor in no time.

He continued to grumble about the injustice of life until he had fallen asleep on the bed that swayed almost like a cradle.

ooOoo

"Your majesty!"

The king awoke with a growl, since the sailor hadn't brought any food with him as he stormed through the door. "What is it?!"

"A ship," the man blubbered, waving his hands around frantically. "There's a flying ship coming in the horizon!"

The king shot out of his bed, and grabbed the sword he had thrown aside a scant few hours ago, strapping it to his side almost painfully tight. "Is it coming toward us?!" he demanded of the shaking sailor, who nodded in terror.

The king stormed out of his cabin, and ran out onto the main deck, where there was nothing but chaos.

Again and again, his old captain bellowed for the cannons to blow the flying ship out of the air, but the ones that didn't miss entirely simply stopped in the air, and dropped like it had hit an impenetrable barrier. In return, the soaring vessel did nothing but fly closer to them, a silent menace.

The king ran up to the highest point of the deck, and made to call out to the ship, but then suddenly remembered something.

Haru had never told him what her lover's name was. He had no idea what he was supposed to call out.

The king shook the idea away, since that information didn't matter anyway. "I know you're up there!" he bellowed as loudly as he could. "Come down here and fight like a man, you coward!"

The ship was directly over him, now. It was just a shade smaller than what his own vessel was, but it obviously had the advantage over his. Over the side of the flying craft came a streak of grey and orange, which flew gracefully through the air before landing solidly on its feet, a mere five yards away from the king.

"I thought you'd never ask," the cat creature said dryly, as he lifted a sword over one shoulder, the only thing he had taken from his own ship. "Are you prepared, old man?"

"Thief!" the king howled, drawing his sword so that he could begin hacking at his feline opponent. "How dare you steal Haru from me?! She was _mine_!"

The giant half-cat's eyes narrowed into dangerous slits as he easily parried each of the old monarch's blows. "No. She is her own. Even I do not own her. Only a senile old fool such as yourself would presume to think otherwise."

"SENILE?!" the king howled as he kept trying to slash his sword through the feline.

Unfortunately for him, his furry opponent was incredibly swift, with both his body and his blade. For every mad jab that the old monarch attempted, there were five long narrow gashes somewhere upon his person, cuts that almost seemed too minimal to spurt so much blood. Within seconds, his fine royal clothes were torn in several places all over his body; both them and his long grey hair almost completely dyed dark red with his life's essence.

On the other hand, the only thing stained red about the giant feline was the edge of his simple, yet incredibly sharp blade. His face, though angry, was also calm and calculating, never losing his control or focus as his blade danced around his opponent in the sunlight.

The king never stood a chance.

ooOoo

Baron looked at the fallen monarch, a small cold spot growing within his chest. "Please understand that I wish it hadn't needed to come to this," he said softly to the bleeding corpse before turning to the stunned crew and soldiers that had gathered on deck unnoticed to watch the duel. They shrank back from his slanted gaze, obviously wondering if they were to follow their king into death.

The tall feline sighed sadly, wondering how many of them had families they would never see again. How many of them were doomed to live through the same lonely years as he had been?

But, there was no help for it.

"Who among you wish to live?" Baron asked softly, earning a chorus of 'aye's and hands raised into the air from the sailors and soldiers on board the vessel. "Very well, then," he sighed, gesturing to the long rope ladder that Muta had tossed over the side of the flying ship, unrolling itself until it nearly touched the main deck of the king's ship.

"Before anyone boards my vessel," the giant half-feline said firmly, stopping the handful of men that had been pushing at each other to start climbing up the rope ladder. "It's only fair to warn you that none of you will ever see your loved ones again. You will be as good as dead to the world you knew, and there is a strong chance that you will be treated with suspicion in your new world for the rest of your lives, by reason of your alliance with the dispatched monarch. All of you will be under my power, so I will do what I can to ensure that you can provide a good life for yourselves. Unfortunately, I have also been commanded to kill any that do not take up my offer, so think carefully before anyone rushes into anything."

One older soldier looked at him, and then at the bleeding corpse behind the tall feline. "Do you kill people that disagree with you?" he asked flatly.

Baron shook his head with a sad chuckle. "My fiancée would have my head if I started acting like that old fool."

A great many of the soldiers sighed with relief, remembering how coldly their old monarch had slain the two brothers that had served him so faithfully. In calm single file, each of the men climbed up the long ladder to their new future.

Baron thoroughly swept through the abandoned vessel, to be sure that no living person was still on board. Satisfied, and more than a little grateful that he would not be required to shed more blood today, he climbed up the rope ladder last of all, Muta pulling it up after the feline lord was safely on board the flying vessel.

"Anything else?" the fat sailor grunted as Baron looked over the edge to the ship below.

"Just this," he replied somberly, using a small spell to make a fire spark between his gloved fingers, and send it down to light the mast on fire.

The flaming main mast collapsed over the body of the king, and within half an hour, the entire ship was flooded by flames that were slowly quenched by the icy sea water.

Haru reached out, and took Baron's hand gently as they watched the flames sink the ship, Toto moving their own vessel to the side to avoid the black smoke. She said nothing to her beloved, just squeezed his hand gently as she stepped closer, to give him comfort.

Baron sighed softly, and just wrapped the girl up in his arms as the ship below finally surrendered to the ocean, and disappeared entirely underneath the icy blue waves while Toto began steering the ship back home.

ooOoo

Haru was still locked in Baron's warm embrace a week later at his manor, the day before their wedding. But it wasn't just because the tall feline was feeling affectionate. It had a little more to do with the fact that they were in the ballroom, and that the feline lord had spelled a number of instruments to provide beautiful music as he guided his betrothed across the tiled floor.

"There," he whispered into her triangular fuzzy ear after he finished twirling her around. "Dancing isn't so terrible, now is it?"

"I guess not," she giggled, rubbing her furry cheek against his chest as he continued to dance with her. "I'll just be happy if I don't embarrass you in front of the entire court tomorrow."

"You won't," he chuckled, gazing at her new face. The change wasn't as drastic for her as it had been for him. Her hair was still long and dark brown, and her eyes still tinged with gold, but her face was now covered with light tan fur, and her slim hands were padded like his own hands. Every inch of her feline form was perfect. He hadn't seen her tail yet, but…

He blushed, and forced those thoughts about his fiancée away for now. And about the honeymoon to follow their vows.

Haru looked up at him, and grinned mischievously. "What were you thinking about?" she asked in a low suspicious tone.

"You," he answered honestly before sampling her lips again. "As usual."

She gave a contented sigh, and allowed her body to melt against his as he hugged her tightly.

After a minute of pure bliss, Baron gave a regretful sigh and pushed her away slightly. "Is it just me, or does it feel like we've been engaged for decades instead of years?"

"It's not just you," Haru assured him, touching his face with one hand gently. "Tomorrow can't come soon enough, as far as I'm concerned."

Suddenly, a polite coughing interrupted their little moment. The couple looked over to see one of Baron's servants, a timid doe maid.

"Please forgive me, my lord," Danielle said with a gentle curtsy. "But the package you asked me to keep an eye out for has just arrived."

"Excellent. Thank you, Danielle," Baron said happily before linking Haru's arm with his, and leading her out of the ballroom as the musical instruments floated back to their resting places.

"What's in the package?" the slim brunette asked curiously, but her beloved only shook his head at her while holding two fingers to her lips with a naughty smirk.

"Just you wait and see, love."

Eventually, they reached the main hall, where there was a long box sitting across one of the bigger tables.

Excitedly, Baron pushed her closer to the box while kissing her cheek. "Open it," he implored.

Haru, more than a little curious, hesitantly reached out and untied the cords holding the box shut before opening the wooden box.

There was another box inside it, but it was a sleek polished black that reflected sunlight beautifully. Haru lifted the heavy black box out of the wooden one, and undid the clasp on the side to open the prettier box…

Her breath caught in her throat, and her huge eyes became even wider as she shakily touched the item inside the long shiny box. "Oh…" she said softly, slowly turning to face her beloved. "Baron…?"

He smiled warmly at her. "It isn't your father's, if that's what you're wondering. I had it commissioned shortly after you met the old fool, since you obviously didn't have your father's anymore. Do you like it?" he asked shyly.

Haru couldn't speak. It was all she could do to choke out a sob as she suddenly threw herself at him, and cry into his shoulder.

Baron wrapped his arms around her, tears glistening in his own eyes as he looked at his engagement present for her.

It was a samurai's sword and sheathe, nearly identical to the one her father had been forced to sell to get medicine before his death. There was no possible way he could retrieve the original, since it had been sold for scrap, but this was the closest he could give his love.

"Besides," he said slyly. "We'll never find out if I can finally beat you unless you have your own weapon."

Haru managed a laugh through her sobs, and kissed his face fervently. "Does it matter if you can beat me now?"

"No. It never did. I've just been curious for the longest time," he said with a teasing smile, kissing her eyelids gently.

"I once heard that curiosity killed the cat," she whispered, leaning her head against his firm shoulder and rubbing one cheek against it. One of her feline ears tickled Baron's chin as she did so, making him chuckle and hold her closer.

"Not _this _cat, love."

ooOoo

Lots of love goes to; NinjaFoodLover, Moonlight X Luna, Dragowolf, ArtsyChick, Rini's Ghost, laurashrub, Bambi4ever, Greenhemoglobin, cwizumi, DreamingLunatic, BlackMagicWhiteMagic, CaptainBillyTheWerewolf, Chantal, LeafeKnight7, kittydemon18, fringeperson, Savannah Cullen, EtherealSympathy, MichantheNinja, NinjaoftheDarkness, Bibliophile Nincompoop, Nonimouse, Sapphire Rose E., Ceysna, AlphaSigma, GreenHarmony, Kakashi's-lil'-sis, slavetothekeyboard, fluffyzdemongirl, Lunarobi Pride, RPO, The Spiked Dragon, Bibishi Kuronecko787, DeterminedToFly, Archon Dragon, silver starlight serpant, Strawberry White Tiger, thelittlespirit, Cici-chi, EagleBlaze, Anonomous-Allstar-Fan (with Bob and Santa), Raye of the Sunshine, Lanari, Apple Juice Revolution, TimeTraveler008, HyperMint, MarkyB, GhostWulf, mizgardenia21, tashie1010, and ThePureLily for their hilarious and wonderful reviews thanks for giving me the little daily chuckles and encouragements; I'm needing them.

Okay, a preview of the next story. This one's a little different from my usual pace; not only is it the longest one I have written to date, it's also a crossover. I'm usually not a fan of them, but the idea for this one wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote it. I think it's one of my better ones, actually. For those that will want to do a little research, it's a crossover between The Cat Returns and Princess Tutu. There's a real plot, I promise!

And here's the synopsis;

_When Haru returns to the town of her birth, she must come to terms with some demons from her family's past, and a love she can't deny._

Lots of love,

YC


End file.
